Origins
by Idle.Inkling
Summary: Through the cracks of Kakashi's dimension, time reverts back to where it all started. Surprisingly sober, Tsunade is left bewildered with her predicament. And, to her surprise, alcohol is not the attributer to any of it. (Time-travel) Co-written with E3-FantasyandReality
1. Chapter 1

_**Dedicated to TheHollowWorld.**_

 _Welcome!_

 _Plot is by_ _ **E3-FantasyandReality.**_ _It will be co-written by the both of us! :DD Because he already has too much on-going stories on his profile. (Check them out!) Some chapters will be individually written by him or I, and the others will be co-written. :)_

 _You'll be able to tell who's written the chapter at the end of the chapter -_ _ **Exciled3**_ _(is E3) and_ _ **xox**_ _(is me)! :P_

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._

 _Mistakes are collectively our fault._

* * *

 **Tragic Paradox**

* * *

Kakashi trudged through the damp silken grass that was overwhelmed and left limp by the over-pouring, bleeding clouds from above. He soldiered on, knowing well he had just evaded possible death, with a drawn conclusion about the infamous leader, Hanzō. The man was the notorious leader of Amegakure, yet he remained hidden behind the wooden lattice wall. On that of that –

His foot stopped mid-drift. With enough discretion, he spun out his kunai and concealed it under his cloak before he looked over his shoulder. His speculation was confirmed as he sauntered through the sycamore filled landscape with a tightened eye –– he was being followed. Of course, to ring off any suspicious behaviour, he tried to remain composed. But that wasn't enough, it seemed.

"Hatake Kakashi, you are to be taken into custody for the suspicion of spying in another village's affairs in the guise of a warranted Chūnin exam permission from the Godaime Hokage." One masked man announced sternly, parting his feet apart slightly. He was preparing himself for a fight.

The silver-haired man retained his cool composure, certain that this man was the _least_ of his concern. What _really_ bothered him was the rest of the hidden ninjas who were cloaked under the mist, and darkness the trees provided. What to do, he contemplated for a moment. Without precisely knowing where the others lurked, Kakashi was damn sure that he can't exercise a well-calculated attack so he could insert a substitute of himself with a lightning clone, and swiftly flee. Judging by the lingering, ill-concealed chakra that tapped into him – over _thirty_ ninjas surrounded him.

He sighed in defeat, certain that he was trapped like a caged bird. However, at the back of his mind, he knew that he cannot afford to be captured –– for Tsunade waited for his mission's outcome. She needs to know what Amegakure has been deduced to. Maybe he can secretly summon Pakkūn to deliver the message, he thought. The success of his delivery was not favourable, however. Kakashi was a jaded man, one whose had enough experience to expect the worse than the best. He was a realistic man; naïveté and ignorance does not run in his system.

It couldn't be helped. He slotted his kunai back and raised his hands up, making the masked man ease his position. Once Kakashi saw the man relax, he reached back down and twirled out another kunai with an attachment. He immediately launched it off. Thick yellow clouds dispersed in the cold night and clouded the man's sight. Before long, Kakashi emerged through the thickness and disarmed him hastily, using the jagged weapon against him by lodging it into his chest. Swiftly the Hatake made his exit, with the rest of the pack running behind and beside him –– they were trying to box him in.

Kakashi rushed into the thickness of the woods, using it effectively by setting off bombs on the trees to deter the rest from taking the same route as him. He reached for his last paper bomb and slapped it on a humongous tree which deprived the rest from his route. However, just as he was about to take the leap of fate into the water below, he became completely surrounded.

All thirty shiny swords came into their possession, pointing so daringly at him. Some ninjas were already in mid-air, weaving seals frantically to wound him, possibly kill him.

 _"Fire style-"_

 _"Water style-!"_

That was all Kakashi needed to hear to slam his hands onto the rigid ground and summon four mud walls to shield him from the incoming danger. The denseness of the water broke through his barrier and allowed for the heat of the fire to crumble the remaining cracks that survived the first wave. When the walls broke down into crumbled pieces, Kakashi's presence was nowhere to be found. Quickly, the troops were filled with trepidation –– where could he have disappeared to?

The mist around them grew thicker and thicker and _thicker._ It was not natural, a minority finally concluded.

But it was already too late.

Shrivelled cries and clangs of metal were heard around them. Blood drenched the wet pavement and growls of wild dogs echoed throughout the woods. Once the smoke finally cleared, the bloodied Leaf ninja stood triumphantly, twirling the kunai around his forefinger, surrounded by his trusted ninken.

The task had been completed.

All that was left was to bury these bodies to remove the evidence. He closed his exposed scarlet eye and put it to rest, keeping his scarce chakra on leash. As he carefully mounted the bodies on top of each other, idle and delicate footsteps rang at the corner of his ear. His face wrinkled and voiced his profanity before he whipped around to find a lone masked man. Tresses of ginger hair stuck out, but the rest of his identity was kept hidden.

He merely stretched his hand out and Kakashi felt the gravity of his presence. This man was certainly not ordinary. Then he spoke slowly, deep and coherent: "You cannot live under these circumstances, Hatake Kakashi."

He remained poised despite the grave predicament he found himself in. "Do you know what this could trigger? Assaulting me is the same as assaulting the Leaf and the Sand. I was delegated here by the Godaime herself to send word about the upcoming––"

The fingers clenched and Kakashi saw a torrent of wind directed against him, hurling objects directly at him. He grunted when he felt the sharp edge of one of the dead soldier's katana lodge perfectly into his upper thigh, whilst the other plunged into his abdomen. His ninken snarled and tried to keep him safe, but even they knew it was futile.

When the gust died down, the man lowered his hand and rolled his shoulders back. "You can no longer live. You _will_ die here _today_ , Kakashi." He took a step forward, whilst Kakashi was inclined to take one back to retain the distance between them. "You will know Pain."

The Copy-ninja opened his left eye and allowed it privy to his chakra, feeling it greedily eat away at his source of power in return for a meticulous analysation. It was then that he saw tendrils of blue flames gathered around the man's eyes, behind his mask. What kind of technique does he possess? He didn't weave any seals to unleash such a potent amount of wind.

 _Just who was this man?!_

He fell on his knees, grunting at the weaves of blood pooling down below him. He was beginning to lose consciousness. Fatigue, chakra-exhaustion and being wounded was taking a toll on him. He looked at his summon and nodded curtly at them, to which they responded hesitantly and dismissed themselves with a puff of smoke.

He needed to get out of this situation. He needed to get back into Konoha, to inform the Hokage of what he had witnessed. If he doesn't –– There was no time to think about that!

The man had his arm outstretched again.

The masked man watched as the silver-haired Jōnin struggled to gain enough momentum to stand up again. However, once the man found his footing and calmed his ragged breaths that showed exertion, he noticed something different in his eye. The pattern –– the standard three-tomoe –– was no longer present. The blackness of the points had joined and curved into an inward shape of a shuriken. It was a new pattern.

Kakashi wryly smiled underneath is mask, breathing heavily. The man tightened his hidden eyes at the sight of the defiant man. He proved to be more dangerous than he looks. Although completely rid of exhaustion, he was still willing to fight. What is it with the trend of Hidden Leaf shinobi acting so tough?

Why was he defying imminent death so adamantly?

No matter. It was all a fruitless attempt.

"Almighty––" his eyes pulsed and bled out with unparalleled feat of power, _"_ –– _Push!"_

 _Mangekyō sharingan!_

Within a second, the shadowed man witnessed Kakashi warp himself and dissolve into thin air without any evidence –– as if he were just a ghost. It was clear that he had escaped using _that_ wretched eye of his. It gleamed, and he must have used it subconsciously when anxiety and adrenaline pumped through his veins.

He was gone.

What a shame, but he cannot pursue the man since his identity was to be kept hidden until the appropriate time.

He turned around, his cloak flapping with the wind.

"Mission failed."

* * *

Tsunade was sat behind her desk as per usual, filling out all the entrance forms of the possible chūnin candidates. The day was serene –– and it would have been better had Shizune not confiscated her secret stash of sake. There was no time to dawdle about it though, because she was already two days behind. As she finished the last feminine stroke of her character with ink, the door suddenly burst open and a medical ninja rushed in, without showing respect or regret for their intrusion.

Before she could address his sudden presence with an underlying threat of throwing him out of the window if he does it again, the man curly spoke:

 _"Hokage-sama, Kakashi-san is in the hospital! We need your assistance immediately!"_

Tsunade had already slipped into her green jacket and rushed out of her office before he could expand on the matter. She sauntered through the halls of the hospital room and was guided into the room where Kakashi was kept. When she entered, the cluster of medics parted like the Red Sea, and she scrutinized his naked body that laid on the examination table.

A blue hue clouded around her dominant hand and she scanned him thoroughly for any more internal injuries that hasn't yet shown in the scan. Once she skimmed past his body and was sure that the most critical injury he had was a chronic injury in his abdomen, she sighed. This will make him an inactive ninja for a while. She placed her hand on his open wound and released her pent up chakra onto it, applying light pressure to close the gaping hole. She watched him twitch, her chakra was stirring him up.

With her spare hand she lightly stroked his forehead and reassured him that everything was going to be okay. His struggling stopped and his eyes were forcefully pried open by the stubborn man. He licked his lips and watched her place her hand on his other wound, healing it promptly.

"Tsunade-sama, about my mission––"

"Just shut up for a while, Hatake," she softly scolded. "Your well-being is my priority. Unless you want to bleed out, remain still and go back to sleep."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama."

After the healing procedure was completed, the silver-haired man shifted cautiously to not have the small blanket fall off along with his dignity. After all, it was the only thing covering up his… "Tsunade-sama," he began again.

She didn't reply, refused to. Instead, she settled the palm of her hand on his forehead and emitted some of her chakra into his system to steal his consciousness away. She watched the man fall back down, deep in his slumber.

Tsunade quickly ordered the remaining nurses to take him into the recovery room; with an emphasis to not let him escape at all cost. _Even if_ he smiles at them. He has a record of making her female –– and a few male –– nurses and doctors to have a nosebleed when he smiles at them. This was especially true when his face was exposed.

Too bad for him, she was immune to it.

* * *

Kakashi awoke sluggishly under the covers of his bed, feeling the soft zephyr dancing around in the confinement he was in again. Sixth, he counted. This was the _sixth_ time he has been hospitalized. It's become a frequent thing that many of the staff have started a bet on it. He hated the feeling of behind surround by these four walls. It made him feel oppressed. He winced when he tried to roll his right hand, feeling a small click in his shoulder blade that introduced him into an acute sense of pain.

Before he could express his agony, the hospital door slid open, and the best medical ninja casually walked in with a clipboard in her hand. She took a stool and propped it next to him. She gave him a soft rueful expression that didn't hold any reprimand for him –– but for herself. He has never been privy to the blonde's feelings –– and frankly, he doesn't want to have such an access now. He'd rather deal with an overly violent Tsunade than a fragile one _any_ day.

"You have been taken out of the mission board for two weeks." She said a matter-of-factly, detached and to the point. "In that time being, I want you to rest up in the hospital. Shizune will run frequent tests on you to monitor the wound in your abdomen. It's deep, and the healing process will take longer than the usual wound. Complications can also surface since it wasn't a clean wound. Blood vessels and nerves were damaged. While this wound is fresh and healing, the affected area will lose its functionality until all lost or damaged tissue is repaired. You're lucky to not have it puncture one of your vital organs."

"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama," he bowed his head in disgrace. "I didn't mean to be such a hassle. I swear, I'll complete my mission to a much higher standard."

"I'm not telling you to apologise." Her eyes eyebrows knitted a frown at his response and obedience, taking blame that wasn't his. "Honestly, Sakumo raised such an obedient child. It's getting on my nerves. Stop apologising for everything you do –– because you're _not_ doing anything wrong, you fool."

"Oh, right. I-I'm sorr-" he stopped mid-way when he saw her eyebrow twitch with irritation. "I…"

"Just shut up." Tsunade snapped, coating it with more irritation to hide her concern for the man. He was reckless. He could have died for God's sake! Of course, this was the burden she carried with every man and woman she would send off into missions. But losing an elite was not in her cards. She _needed_ Kakashi in her arsenal –– and in her personal life.

Being a Hokage was not the most sociable job one could have. Being stuck and buried under paperwork stops you from talking to people. However, people like him, Shizune, Jiraiya and that little snobby blond brat who insists on branding her _'grandma'_ , warmed her mundane life. He was practically her friend, believe it or not. A right hand and a friend. Sending him as a lone ninja made her see just how much she underestimated the circumstance, and how poor her judgement was. She should have planned ahead and anticipated for something like this to happen.

Instead of speaking, Kakashi raised his hand up and waited for her to acknowledge his wish to speak. "If I may," he said when she looked at him, "I'd like to give you the brief of my mission."

"Go ahead," she replied exasperatedly, waving her hand at him in a dismissal fashion. "I don't think you'll even take _'no'_ as an answer."

His eyes arched upwards. "You know me too well, Tsunade-sama."

"So…?"

"Has it not come to your attention that I am not due to arrive until tomorrow? The distance from Konoha to Amegakure is simply too great a feat to travel within a day –– nay, half a day." He spoke languidly, meticulously eyeing her body language that suddenly grew rigid. When there was clear silence in the air, the man continued, "Something happened."

She huffed and folded her arms underneath her breasts, keeping her lips pursed. Judging by the tone of his voice, this _'something'_ was major and not something to be overlooked. She shifted slightly on her stool and braced herself for the worse.

"I need to train first to find out…." Kakashi concluded softly, looking at her meaningfully, as a way to coax her to submit to her good side so he could get an early dismissal form. However, he was met by a disapproving look from the Hokage. He was already prepared for that. (A ninja must _always_ be prepared). He slowly reached up to the hem of his mask, ready to pull it down and flash a smile.

Tsunade was already aware of what the man intended, and hastily reached out to stop him from exposing his lower face. It was already too late for the Godaime, though.

He smiled wholeheartedly, hoping it would butter her up to his request. Instead of receiving the normal –– verging on cliché –– expression of having a nosebleed, the side of his face was greeted by the palm of her hand. He groaned out dramatically as his body was forced to the side by the force of her slap. The sting echoed in the hospital room, and the Copy Ninja found himself with a throbbing red cheek, the imprint of Tsunade's hand firmly embedded into it.

"Don't you even dare try and use that against me, you foolish man."

Kakashi sheepishly rubbed the patch of soreness of his skin, glancing back to see a red-streaked faced Hokage sitting prominently on the stool. It didn't happen all together and as sly as Kakashi had initially concocted in his head, but he radiantly exposed his mirth at the clear fact that he made the Hokage burn up.

She was a woman, after all. Who would have thought? After burying herself in such a glowering aura, he could no longer see her as an opposite sex. But right now, with her burning face glowing the shade of a tomato, he couldn't help but express his gaiety.

"Fine," Tsunade huffed in defeat. "You can start tomorrow. But for tonight –– you're staying here to recuperate. Am I clear?"

He refrained himself from smiling again. "Crystal."

* * *

As promised, the silver-haired man stayed stationary in his hospital room, with the help of his porn books that were promptly delivered by Pakkūn. He read and read, and flicked and flicked the pages over, until sunrise came. On the last crisp page of Icha Icha Makeout Tactics, his head snapped back and he looked at his window, noticing that the sun had already set in the blue inked sky.

With a relaxed sigh, he put two fingers up and disappeared with a puff of smoke. When the nurse entered his room with his discharge paper, she was met by an empty hospital bed with an abandoned –– clearly over-read –– collection of porno.

"Pervert…." She huffed away, hiding her burning cheeks as best as she could.

He may be a pervert, but he sure was a looker.

* * *

Tsunade, as always, groggily shifted her head on the desk in her office. She groaned with exertion and irritation when the sun's rays peeked through momentarily before blasting straight at her face. She wrinkled the lines of her youthful mask in retaliation, and grabbed the nearest scroll she could find on the desk. "Let me sleep, goddamnit!" With a bit of effort, she hurled the cylinder object into the room. It was briskly caught by the one-and-only masked pervert.

Kakashi looked at the dented scroll that had imprints of her fingers with a frown. "Now, now," he lightly began, throwing the object up and down on the palm of his hand, repeating it as he sauntered closer to the dangerous Hokage. "The village is already functioning, Tsunade-sama. It's your job to rise along with it."

Her hazel eyes narrowed ominously and its shade darkened considerably at the audacity Kakashi showed carelessly. "Well some people didn't sleep 6 o'clock in the morning now, did they?" she spoke rhetorically. Not to mention, she was not a morning person. Not in this life nor the last. A few people can attest to this, including that Perverted Gallant, Jiraiya. The poor man was sent to the sky when he _'accidentally'_ fell on top of her when she was asleep. With the gift of hindsight, the Gallant may not have fallen on her purposely, because Orochimaru was there, and she remembered them bickering about her lover, Dan. While Jiraiya showed great disdain, Orochimaru just rolled his eyes. And that sparked the Shinobi War between the two.

She smirked, enthralled by begotten memories.

He shrugged, "I didn't sleep at all."

Tsunade faintly registered back to reality, meeting his mismatched eyes. "Yeah, I know. I've had the report of your activities during your stay in the hospital last night from the ANBU team I've sent."

"You sent an ANBU team just to spy on me?" He asked, mildly concerned and oddly flattered.

Tsunade picked up the report they submitted hours before. "Seven o'clock: reading Icha Icha Paradise. Eight o'clock: reading Icha Icha Paradise. Nine o'clock: having mild nosebleed from reading Icha Icha Paradise. Ten o'clock: reading Icha Icha Makeout Troubled Paradise. Eleven o'clock––" she grimaced at the repetitive statements, slamming the paper back down on her desk. "Don't you ever do something else?"

"What can I say?" He shrugged. "I'm a loyal reader. Once I start, I will never stop until I get the job done."

* * *

Later that afternoon, Tsunade was notified by his summons that her attention was needed. When she arrived at the training grounds, she was beyond mortified to find the man huffing and puffing on the spot, drenched in his own blood and sweat. She watched as the unscathed shadow clone vanished upon the given command of its user. He looked overly-weary and his chest expanded rapidly as he ruggedly inhaled. The kunai slipped from his hand and the sudden feeling of light-headedness washed over him.

Kakashi finally dropped onto his knees, still perspiring heavily. He touched his borrowed eye. No matter what he did, he could not activate the new sharingan again. He was forced to crane his neck up when a feminine silhouette glowered over him. He tried to smile underneath his mask, but the concern that plagued her face wiped the very thought from his mind. Instead, he bowed his head and continued to regulate his breaths.

Tsunade knelt down in front of him and placed the palm of her hand on his bicep. A distinct emerald glow shone and began to knit the light injuries he sustained from his own shadow clone. "Putting yourself in danger…." She softly scolded, meticulously cleaning up the mess he created. "For a hailed prodigy, you're very stupid."

"I'm sorry."

"What were you trying to achieve? A prolonged time off action? Because that can _easily_ be arranged!" A fist into his gut should suffice.

"I just––"

"What?!"

"I didn't know what caused my sudden escape from that masked man in the Hidden Rain, but I remember feeling this new power throbbing through the veins of my eye. I think I might have awakened the next level of my sharingan, Tsunade-sama. If I can somehow get it to activate…"

"You teleported with that eye?" She questioned. "The only Uchiha I heard who could do such a thing was Uchiha Shisui."

"I didn't teleport," he clarified. "It's more on the lines of warping myself into another dimension." His icy fingertips touched his closed borrowed eye in frustration. "This is too tedious for my liking. I thought by exposing myself to danger, it would give me the key to reawaken this new power I acquired."

"Open your eye. It may have been strained." Tsunade lithely took the masked man by his chin, and tilted his head upwards in an angle. She scrutinized the state of his eye and conclude that it was indeed strained. "Reckless man," she muttered.

Just as she was about to apply her green glow on his prized possession, the sharingan began to pulse and swirl. It captured the blonde Hokage's attention, and she found herself oddly entranced by the erratic motion of the tomoes. The three wheel eventually started to spin and turn into an inward shuriken. The jet black hue it contained with the blood pool around it ominously alarmed her. She flinched back but before she knew it, the eye had activated without the commands of its master.

She was instantly sucked into another dimension.

Tsunade fell through the cracks of blackness, rendered mute from screaming. After plunging into the abyss, the Hokage somewhat felt at ease. Her vision hazed and the small light at the end of the tunnel abruptly closed shut. Her body continued to drift off, further and further down where oxygen proved to be a scarce source.

Before she could feel herself hyperventilate rapidly, her body was wrung around and dragged roughly in the dark. She didn't know what happened after that, nor did she have any clear visuals on the entire experience. All she remembered was that it was pitch black.

And she passed out.

* * *

When Tsunade painfully pried her eyes back open, she was greeted by a halo filled with a myriad of evergreen hued leaves drifting in sync with the zephyr. She continued to stare up, hypnotized. It wasn't until her fingers twitched that her attention was reverted back to reality. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and massaged her temple, groaning haggardly as if she just had a hangover.

As she scanned her surroundings she noticed that nothing registered in her mind. Nothing was familiar. She was sure she wasn't sent into one of the Training Grounds, because she knew its terrain inside out. She whipped her head left and right –– where the hell was _that_ man?!

Oh, she was going to _kill_ Kakashi when she sees him again. She cracked her knuckles at the thought. That smug face will be wiped clean.

Her plot of vengeance was interrupted when a crack of twigs and a rustle of dead leaves disrupted her iota of awareness. She looked over her shoulder and saw a boy with shaggy black hair, donned in a dark purple yukata. The boy didn't look lost, if anything he looked as if he was looking for something in particular.

"You," she said, rising up. "Do you know the way out of this forest?"

"To where?" He asked back, raising a brow. "The nearest village is twenty miles; you would have to go through several clan restricted areas to get to it, of course."

"I want directions to the Hidden Leaf."

"Huh?" He cocked his head sidewards and gave an ape-like expression of confusion. "What the hell is that?"

"Brat––!" She was going to explode.

"Who are you calling ' _brat'_?" He evenly interjected. "You're around the same age as I."

"Flattery won't get you anywhere."

"I'm not flattering you. I'm stating a matter of fact." He pointed straight at her, "You're shorter than me too."

She looked down at herself and shrieked after she looked down and saw that she wasn't greeted by her fine chest. It was flat. She was _flat_ –– a cardboard again. Looking violated, she clutched herself. Her matured body was gone and it had been replaced back to her prepubescent self.

Why was she fourteen years old again?

"Are you alright?" The body inquired further. "If you're lost then I can take you back to our clan compound, keep you safe until the war here is over."

"War?"

"Yes. This area is a battlefield. It's not safe for people like you."

Tsunade surrendered her pride and allowed herself to follow the footsteps of the dark-featured boy. He led the way with confidence backing up his stride. His analytical skills were beyond sharp and refined – even the slightest movements alerted him; he _must_ be a ninja. Finally, after hurdling past so many obstacles, she asked him gently: "What's your name?"

His footsteps halted and he gazed at her over his shoulder with a frown. He turned on his heels and placed on hand on his hip, and grinned mightily.

"I'm Madara."

The Hokage could have sworn that her heart stopped beating for a second.

" _M-Madara?"_

Just when Tsunade couldn't possibly think that her luck could be any more fucked up –– _this_ happens.

She needed her sake. And she needed more than a dozen of it.

* * *

Kakashi woke up, in an upside down position, as his legs were hooked over a tree branch. Before he could fully interpret that he was upside down, the branch snapped in half. Thankfully, he was extremely agile, and he managed to twirl around to land smoothly on his feet. He dusted off the leaves that clung on his clothes –– noticing that he wasn't donned in his Jōnin uniform. "What the hell––?"

He looked down, scrutinizing his outfit and the size of his feet and hands. He hurried to the stream of river, kneeling down to look at his reflection. His hair was free from the restriction of the shinobi headgear, leaving his hair to obscure his borrowed eye. Before he could contemplate on what the hell had happened and how he seemingly just sucked the Hokage into another dimension, he heard light steps approach him with caution.

An enemy.

Or a civilian.

It didn't matter. He had to act. He whirled around and slapped out a kunai out of his pouch. However, he fell short when a large katana pointed harshly against his throat. His lone black eye met a pair of maroon eyes that were crowned with white hair. They stared at each other for the longest time. The man had a scowl written all over his face. Kakashi arched a brow, he looked familiar.

"Tobirama!" A light voice bellowed out, body hidden. It was not long until the owner of that voice pushed through the shroud of trees not far from them. It was a boy with a brown bowl-haircut, a direct contrast to the other boy's striking locks. "Don't. He's just a passerby."

 _"Still."_ He insisted sharply, pointing the blade even more against his skin.

Kakashi found himself at mercy of the Second Hokage, having the pristine sword nearly jammed into his throat. If anyone told him that he would meet the Second Hokage _and_ First Hokage in this kind of predicament, he would most certainly call them crazy.

But here he was, kneeling in front of the infamous white-haired man.

The sword prickled against his skin.

He should have just stayed in the hospital with his beloved porn books.

It would have saved him from this kind of shit.

* * *

 **Exciled3**


	2. Chapter 2

_I should have put another earlier disclaimer to this time-travel fiction. My only other disclaimer is that this time-travel fiction is filled with_ _ **crack**_ _. Seriously, if you've read my profile or my other story, you will understand. This story is not the standard story you will get._

 _You have been warned. If you continue to read forward and find that it's not to your liking, don't blame me/us._

* * *

 **To Change or To Retain**

* * *

The sharpness of the tip was as lethal as the scowl of the Senju. The furrowed eyebrows and downward lips of disdain were a spitting image of another Senju he knew very well. So this was the origin of Tsunade's temper. It was too bad that he lacked the same oozing zest as the other brown-haired Senju –– the First Hokage. The teenager was literally skipping towards them in a calm and collected manner, as if he were just prancing through a field of daisies.

"You're the spy who's been collecting the Senju's locations, aren't you?" Tobirama concluded harshly, lips downcast again.

Kakashi evaluated the scene meticulously. If he did escape this predicament, where could he go? The geographic surroundings were very different from what he was accustomed to. He could be in the Leaf right now, or at the border of Konoha, but he wouldn't know. The area lacked urbanisation and iconic landmarks for him to be able to depict his location.

Man, what a drag.

"I'm entirely innocent," Kakashi confessed lightly, hands stretched up in the air as a sign of forfeit. Unlike the ninja he had fooled a day ago, the boy remained rigid and calculative. _Figures_. He was a battled-hardened Senju, after all.

The Copy-ninja's eyes widened at the thought. _Senju_. What had happened to the Fifth Hokage? If he recalled correctly, the gate to his new eye was unlocked when he accidentally activated it and warped her in. Could she be in the same area? Or was she sent in another time period? His innate side of protectiveness burned rapidly. He was her subordinate –– her _protector_. He didn't have the time to deal with these discrepancies.

"I'm sorry…." His arms dropped to his sides. "I do not have the time to do this."

 _"What was that!?"_

Within a nanosecond, Kakashi reached for the weapon and channelled his electricity through it. Since the weapon consisted of steel, it conducted his currents effectively. The Senju winced and jolted back, six feet away from him. The masked man took a hold of the sword and broke it into two, rendering it useless for Tobirama.

"I'm looking for a woman," he said carefully, knowing well that her identity isn't known in this era. "She's a friend of mine. I'm wondering if you've seen here. She's blonde with brown eyes."

"Oh!" Hashirama was enlightened, and he looked understanding of the situation. On the other hand, his younger brother folded his arms and clicked his tongue in annoyance. "That's how it is!"

"Brother, don't believe this stranger!" He warned sharply. "People lie to survive in this world. Don't take things at face value so easily."

The boy bowed his head down and emitted a depressed aura, as he feigned his tears and hurt. Kakashi cocked his head to the side and found himself confused. Was the vaunted First Hokage rumoured to be a sulky and sensitive man? From the tales he had encountered during his youth, it was said that the First Hokage became dubbed as the _'God of All Shinobi'_ –– the most feared man in the Shinobi World. The masked prodigy was certain that he didn't achieve such recognition for his tears and oozing dramatic personality.

"What's your name?" Hashirama asked gently with a carefree smile. "Maybe I can help you find your friend."

"Brother!" Tobirama said again to protest, but it fell on deaf ears.

"Please, Tobirama," he raised his hand up to him, indicating that he wanted silence. His chocolate eyes levelled with the dark charcoal eye the Leaf shinōbi had. Hashirama could tell that the boy was more than what he actually let on. The mask was a mischievous deed to do, to keep the mystery. But he always loved a challenge. His silver hair was as pure as daylight and his only visible eye was jagged and lacklustre –– like his father's.

This man has seen death before.

Kakashi slumped his shoulders back, feeling obligated to share his identity. In the past or not, this boy he was talking to was _the_ First Hokage –– the founder of the Leaf village, the man who simultaneously defeated Madara _and_ the Nine-Tails. Being the obedient servant the man was, his lips parted and his tongue rolled out the syllables of his name before his brain could process it, "Kakashi Hatake."

"Hatake?" Tobirama raised a brow. "You're from a clan who's neutral from any side of this warfare?"

Hashirama cupped his chin, visibly intrigued. "I see it clearly now. He has their features –– silver hair with stone back eyes. They're just like the Uchiha, their features are all a spitting image of each other's!"

"What are you doing in this region?" The white-haired Senju inquired further, harshness coating his question. It was as lethal as the sword that was previously pressed against Kakashi's throat. One false truth, one wrong step, one unintentional provocation, and it will all be over. The Second Hokage was rumoured to be smarter than the Nara clan –– that spoke volume.

Kakashi needed to constantly remind himself that even though the Second was not yet in his prime form, he still posed a significant amount of threat. Carelessness will get him killed, he knew. Tobirama was not an ordinary brat –– he was beyond exceptional, easily surpassing the future prodigies produced in the Leaf village. His maroon coated eyes were steeled and iced; he was not wavering from his calm demeanour.

His guard was up.

His primal instincts were rearing to go.

"Perhaps the Hatake clan decided to join the war," Tobimara speculated lightly. "Is that why you're here? To spy and give feedback to your clan?"

There was wariness in his tone. Fright, maybe. The Hatake clan were always known to be a neutral party from politics (the Hatake never had much clout in the political sense), and the warfare between the war of clans in Madara and Hashirama's era. They were the smallest clan in the Leaf, but easily one of the strongest. For every generation, they would produce a hailed prodigy that would surpass the last. The Hatake clan were the hailed juggernauts within the confines of the Leaf, the elites among elites. One member could easily equate to twenty skilled ninjas. This was because they possessed profound knowledge, practicality and efficiency among an array of jutsu. They were skilled survivors, battle-hardened and sly. That's how such a small clan managed to survive through the ages.

However, due to the tragedies and ill-thought out plans during the First and Second Shinobi War, the Hatake numbers dwindled away massively. Sakumo's father and mother perished in the battlefield. And eventually, Kakashi became the next prodigy the village needed from the near extinct clan. The Hatake were essentially a dying breed.

To hear of their existence in this era oddly pleased Kakashi. His own flesh and blood were here.

"I'm not associated with the clan," he told truthfully.

"Ah, you're a rogue."

"Well––" he tried to say but was sharply interrupted.

Tobirama pulled out his substitute weapon, a sai. He crouched into a fighting stance, holding his spare hand out to stop his brother from intervening. "He's acting on his own accord, brother. He could prove to be a flight-risk –– or worse, a disgrace to his own clan. All clans have their set rules of conduct. It has been established that any traitors –– or rogues–– in a clan will suffer a death penalty. I'll take that responsibility for the Hatake clan. I'm sure they would the same for us."

Hashirama looked away, pursing his lips with disdain. His brother was not wrong. This was the conduct they abide by. Life is cruel, but this was their reality. This is the reality he seeks to change. To see his younger brother follow it without mercy or self-thought petrified him. Tobirama's young mind has already been corrupted by conducts, death and animalistic nature.

He took a step back from the scene as a sign of avocation. That was everything Tobirama needed to lunge at the Hatake. He lashed his sai upwards to avert his attention to the gleaming weapon. As Kakashi's eyes were drawn to the weapon, Tobirama took the liberty to weave hand seals within a second.

After Tobirama kneaded a sufficient amount of chakra into his stomach his hands formed the last seal: the rat. _"Water style: Water Bullet technique!"_ An intense wave of chakra was released along with a dense amount of water from his mouth.

Although it was all impressive, Kakashi had already foretold it to happen with his shrouded sharingan. The Senju has not yet suspected his hidden eye, and Kakashi knew he had to be more carious not to show it because it would lead to more instigations that would be fruitless. Swiftly, Kakashi side-stepped and evaded the attack before he summoned his signature mud wall by his side, to stop Tobirama's eager slash that could have easily decapitated his head.

Both light-haired ninjas jumped away from each other, breathing stabilized and eyes focused. Hashirama observed from the background, astonished to what he could feel. Surely if he could feel it, Tobirama could feel it too. After all, his younger brother was gifted with a more innate sensory ability than him. There was a substantial amount of chakra tendrils emitting from Kakashi's hidden eye.

Just like an Uchiha.

Before he could investigate further, the channel of waves from his eye became non-existent. The emissions were cut off, dried out. The future First shook his head, thinking as if he had just imagined it. His attention drew to his brother who collected his breath once more.

"Tobirama," he began.

"I know," he said sharply, wiping the dripping sweat from his chin. "This boy..."

His eyes tightened, feeling weak on his knees.

The presence of his chakra was tooimmense.

"…he's not an ordinary Hatake."

* * *

Tsunade cautiously followed the future notorious terrorist of the Leaf. The man who built the foundations of the village with her grandfather. Her molten gold-hued eyes sharpened and flicked to the side with caution –– someone was tailing them. Although her sensory skills were not in the same league as her great uncle's, it was still reliable enough in a certain radius. She whipped her body back and stared into the woods.

Madara looked back. "Keep walking," he insisted, taking her by her wrist to tug her alongside him. He pulled her closer and whispered in her ear, "Act normal. Don't give away our innocence."

"You knew?"

"Of course. But I need them."

 _"Them?"_

"In this war, there are the Uchiha and Senju –– the one of the biggest and most prestigious clans that have ever emerged. Then there are coalition groups, the vultures of our society. They pick on the weak, and suck the life out of them."

The pressure of his hand around her wrist heightened, making her wince unexpectedly. When he noticed her discomfort he immediately released her and curtly apologized, startling her. She never thought that a man with an infamous sinister nature would be so apologetic. Then again, animosity and hatred are bred, not born. Tsunade has never subscribed to the belief that people are born evil; that their origins of hatred derive from the moment they were formed in the foetus.

It may be fate that steered them into darkness, but it never forms straight from the womb. She saw this in Orochimaru…. and even in Kakashi. Although the two are entirely different scenarios, they did succumb to darkness at one point in their lives. But they were _never_ born like that. Orochimaru may have been an aloof child from the beginning, someone who belonged to their own universe, but that was only because his thoughts far surpassed his peers. He was in a league of his own. Despite that, he was a gentle child. Tsunade remembered: he was always secretly soft.

But that all changed when his parents died in battle; when his eyes were opened to the limitations of the human body and the capacity of one's life force. He sought for immortality, because of the trauma of losing his parents so abruptly, so inhumanely. That was where his evil nature derived from.

Not from birth.

Then, there was Kakashi, the prodigy and trophy of Sakumo and his late wife. He was not a soft child by any means, but that was because he was oblivious about standard social norms. He was an empty canvas from it. His emotions were completely drowned by Ninja law and jutsu. Since his childhood, he was governed by a set of rules and regulations. He was the machine the Leaf manufactured, the perfect mould for a loyal dog for the greater good of the village.

That is where Kakashi's darkness comes from. Sakumo, Obito, Rin, Minato –– everyone Kakashi's ever cared for –– fell to their deaths because of the Ninja Decree. Their deaths only forged the shroud of darkness in his heart. His service in the ANBU, his near-miss betrayal of the Hokage, his ruthless nature and reputation were all blood-stained tragedies that came from the way he was brought up.

Of course, unlike Orochimaru, he fought against his demons and surfaced as a new man. But, with every small glimpses, Tsunade couldn't help but shudder when she saw a snippet of his dark masked alter ego. His other side remained hidden from the world, but it still lingered under the surface of his mask. His inner demon still lurked... and that was the scariest part of Kakashi.

His personality shouldn't be taken at face value, because underneath it all –– underneath all the grime and tears –– Kakashi hid a very deadly side to him.

Seeing it in person was enough to paralyse Tsunade. And she wasn't the type of person to submit to fear so easily, too.

"They took elders from my clan, people who have not stained their hands with blood. It's unforgivable." Madara's voice suddenly pulled Tsunade out from her musings, enlightening her with his passion for others.

"What do you plan on doing?"

"Kill them."

"But––!"

"I'll spare one to tell me my elders' location. Should he resist…." He bit his tongue back, "Well, I won't let it come to that. I should spare three, just in case, to spare myself from discrepancies. People will often bark as loud as they can for survival, I cannot have that."

"Is that why––"

"Yes. I'm leading them to an open field, to slaughter them."

"The numbers are against you!" What was she saying? He's known to have heavenly powers that were compared to a God. He's just a child now, though. Surely his prowess will be greatly restrained. Even the greatest ninjas has their downfall. This was his limitation –– his fragile and young body. If she helped him….

"I'm already one of the strongest in my clan," Madara stated suddenly. "Just watch, I'll save my fellow clansmen."

Tsunade felt her gut tighten; his chakra just boiled forth.

This was _the_ Madara Uchiha she heard folktales about.

* * *

Metal clashed with metal. Fist punched through air, foot dug in abdomen. Jutsu countered and deflected jutsu. It was all becoming fruitless. Both ninjas panted and collected their breaths without wavering.

"You haven't performed much ninjutsu," Tobirama noted. "You've stuck with taijutsu and kenjutsu."

"I don't want to fight you." Kakashi stood back up on his feet, dusting away the debris off his clothing. He twirled the kunai back into his pouch and pushed his hair back, finally revealing his closed scarred eye.

"I've got to say, you're impressive to have put up a fight." The Senju's compliment fell short when his scowl resurfaced again, "But I'm taking you down."

"Tobirama…!"

"Water style–" His hands shakily weaved another set in quick succession.

"Like I said before, I have no business with you." Kakashi abruptly stated without batting an eyelash at the incoming attack. "I'm here to find a friend of mine." A friend of not, he needed to find Tsunade. She was the Hokage, after all. And he was her subordinate. It is his absolute duty to keep her safe. If he were to fail this ––

 _"-Instant bullets!"_

Dozens upon dozens of moulded water were shot at Kakashi at tremendous speed. However, in a flicker of an eye, the Hatake's presence dissipated into nothingness. Tobirama flinched back and ceased fire, realizing the flaw in his self-absorbed attack. He lost his target, but it only had been a second.

Where did he go?

A shimmer of the reflected sunshine shone underneath him before the sharpness of the blade was leaned gently against his throat. Tobirama's hands fell shamefully to his sides and he bowed his head down in disgrace. A Senju –– a boy like him –– was caught from behind?!

"Game over," Kakashi spoke icily, composed.

Before Kakashi could justify his action and clear his name from the eager Senju's kill-list, he faced grave interruption by another Senju member. To his surprise, it wasn't Hashirama who intervened, but a stronger man.

"Father!" The First Hokage gaped, awestruck by his sudden appearance.

"For you to just watch an enemy press a weapon against your brother's neck is unforgivable, Hashirama." He scolded evenly, clenching his hand into a ball. "You'll face discipline when we come home to our compound."

Before Kakashi could react, or even register to the situation, the elder Senju dashed forward and grabbed a hold of his face. The Hatake didn't remember anything past the sensation of his head being bashed into the rigid ground. His consciousness was stolen away and his body was left limp by the Senju.

"Father, he wasn't going to kill Tobirama!" Hashirama protested finally.

"How would you know that?"

"Because…."

"You _don't_. We all have a common enemy –– the Uchiha –– but under all that, we also have other enemies to deal with. Brats like these are a threat. He could have killed the only brother you have left!"

Tobirama fell onto his knees and held his throat with relief. Before he could thank the leader of the Senju clan, he was sent to the other side by a single kick to the stomach. His body thumped onto the ground before it rolled several times. He groaned, holding his stomach, coughing up a tinge of blood from his mouth.

"Weak!" Butsuma spat with apparent disgust. "I taught you better than that!"

"I'm sorry, father."

"Save the apologies till later." He turned his back to both of his sons and led the way back to their hideout. "And bring that boy with you."

"W-Why?" Tobirama gasped.

"He's a mongrelised Hatake, that's why."

"What do you mean?"

"He possesses the sharingan." He looked over his shoulder with a wary look on his face.

Hashirama flinched but remained quiet. So his speculations were correct. It wasn't just his imagination. The boy _did_ have a sharingan in his arsenal. That is why he was able to perceive attacks that could not have been easily followed by an ordinary human eye.

"We'll keep him as a prisoner."

"What for?"

"We can use him as a weapon."

* * *

Tsunade stood –– well, she was frozen with amazement –– by the raw carnage Madara reigned over the men he deceived into the open area. She has never witnessed a child have such a composure to wage war so heartlessly. It was natural in his eyes. He did it without exerting much effort. She looked at him without saying anything.

He clung to the sword shakily after killing the remaining three he extensively interrogated for questions of their whereabouts. He bit his lower lip to stop it from trembling before he turned on his heel to face the blonde. "Are you going to run away?" he asked.

"No." As much as she wanted to part with him, she needed to settle somewhere stable and get replenished before she could start piecing this shithole together. "What are you going to do now?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He slotted his weapon back into its compartment and jumped on a tree branch. "I'm going to save my family."

Tsunade followed him and overcame the obstacles of the forest, running without any stops to the alleged whereabouts of his captured elders. They stopped on their trail and found a sealed tomb that towered over the both of them. It had to be six meters tall. The boulder was titanic and the Uchiha lacked the power to move it. He could easily summon his fire style, but he feared that he would overestimate the boulder's density and burn his family inside.

He reached for his sword and dashed forward, slashing at it relentlessly. His sword became awfully jagged per strike he ensued out of plain rage of helplessness. With the final ounce of frustration he had left to bleed, his sword broke into two. His feet touched the ground once more and he backed away, breathing unstable and on the verge of hysteria.

"Damn it," he sneered.

Tsunade stood quietly, contemplating on what she could do. She could either help him or feign helplessness and watch him fall into complete hysteria. It may be her lineage and the Senju blood that resonated within her, but helping an Uchiha made her feel cold. Of course, she's worked with a couple of Uchiha before, but it was a different era. The Uchiha she worked with believed in peace with the Senju, but Madara didn't. Helping him now would feel as if she were betraying own clan.

On the other hand…. this was his family. Even she would grovel on her knees and beg for help from a rivalling clan to save her loved ones. What if it were Nawaki and Dan trapped in that sealed cave? She would do _anything_ to get them out of it. Be it her pride, dignity or her ability to be a ninja, she would sacrifice anything for them.

"I can help." Tsunade finally spoke up with resolute, engulfing her hand with potent chakra and allowing for it to fully enflame. She stepped closer to the imposing boulder, analysing the situation. If she were to smash the boulder into pieces –– which she could easily do –– the fragments may hurt the people who were inside. With a huff, the blue translucent flame around her fist dwindled and concentrated around her index finger, instead.

"Oi, what could you possibly do?" Madara asked with a sceptical frown. She didn't contribute to the fight he was just involved with. If anything, she stepped away.

"Stand back," she warned, raising her arm up. Before he could hesitantly comply, she slashed down at the boulder, halving into two. Hastily, she concentrated her chakra back into her entire hand and grabbed a hold of one side and hurled it to the other side, narrowly missing Madara's side. She looked over her shoulder without an apologetic expression, "I _did_ tell you to stand back."

Madara watched, wide-eyed, as Tsunade broke the other half into smithereens. She stepped into the darkened cave with nonchalance, but he knew better. "That's been rigged!" He vociferated desperately, shifting on his feet to prevent her from going in further.

Tsunade already saw through the rigged traps and swiftly took a side-step to dodge the incoming kunais. Swiftly, after channelling a coating of chakra around her fingers, she slashed through the steel wires and punched the incoming boulder from above with irritation. This wasn't going to end was it? Another set of projectiles launched at her. In a lithe motion: she dodged, deflected and defused the last kunai that had an explosive attached to it.

At the end of the dark cave, she saw a family curled up, shivering out of fear and the cold. Madara dashed in and helped the elders out of the humid cave. "Are you alright? Did they do anything to you?" he questioned persistently, kneeling down next to them.

"We're fine, Madara." One elder man spoke curtly before he looked up at Tsunade. "Who are you?"

She wanted to snort out derisively. The audacity of some clansmen really amuses her. She saved them, yet this is what she gets –– a bunch of dirty looks and boring eyes. She really shouldn't have expected much from the Uchiha clan. They were not all that expressive to begin with.

Madara stood up. "Yeah, you haven't introduced yourself to me, either."

"My name is Tsunade," she said plainly, not wishing to expose her last name. It was seen to be taboo within the Uchiha clan. And since she wanted to keep her head attached to her body, she didn't want to cause an uproar and pandemonium.

"Thank you for saving us."

She looked down and saw a woman within the group holding her recently lacerated arm. Slowly, she knelt down and took her arm. Then, after calming her protests down, she placed her hand onto the wound and knitted it back together with the help of her chakra. Her eyes trailed upwards to Madara who was stood adjacent to her, watching her meaningfully.

Onyx black met molten hazel. Hatred met the Will of Fire.

His eyes flickered with mild curiosity.

"It's nice to meet you, Tsunade." He finally said calmly, blinking once before he continued to scrutinize her healing prowess, along with the raw strength she displayed earlier.

Her lips arched upwards into a faint smile though she didn't produce any niceties to reciprocate. She continued to heal the former hostages who were supposedly taken for negotiation. According to Madara, they were subjected to ransoms in exchange for the elders' safety.

Interesting, she thought. She never thought the Uchiha was such a compassionate clan to even care for the frail and weak.

The girl was strong, Madara concluded in his mind. Albeit not as strong as his fellow clansmen, she was _strong_.

And he was always fond of strong people.

* * *

Kakashi awoke. Though deeply disorientated from the blow he received from the Head of the Senju clan. He groaned and tried to outstretch his arms, only to find them bound by shackles of chains. He looked side to side: he has been restrained next a stone cold wall –– he was in a cellar.

He tried to wring himself free, to no avail. His feet shifted and attempted to push his body up, but... it proved to be fruitless. "Goddamn it," he cursed under his breath, bowing his head to let his sweat trickle down his face.

His cellar door was opened and Hashirama stepped in lightly. He shone the lantern at Kakashi and sat down on the damp ground. His meekness still remained untouched, even though he had bruises on his face that weren't previously there. He finally grinned to ease him from the ball of isolation.

"I'm really sorry about this," said Hashirama.

"I…." Kakashi breathed, "…. I don't have time for this."

"Ah, yes. You need to find your friend, right?"

"That's right," he spoke, looking up slightly to make eye contact with the founder of the future Leaf village. "I need to find her so we can…." He groaned as he tried to slip past the chains that were around his wrists.

Hashirama cupped his chin with intrigue. "Is that why you're no longer in your clan? Because you wanted to meet with this friend of yours?"

"No…"

"You can tell me, you know. I won't tell anyone." He said reassuringly, thumping his thumb onto his chest. "It's a man's honour."

"We got separated, that's all. We uhm…" he licked his lips. How could he possibly concoct a believable scenario? He couldn't just say the truth and expect Hashirama to believe him. They slipped into the cracks of his dimension, that's what happened. Who would believe that he has some kind of eye-sucking jutsu that warps into another dimension? Thinking of it was just as ridiculous as he thought.

"Could this girl be…" he started to giggle childishly, as a mischievous expression emerged from his face. "Could she be your girlfriend or something?"

Kakashi gave a wry smile, chuckling under his breath. The thought of it was unfathomable. She was a woman of his father's generation, she was the Hokage, and he was just a disposable subordinate. To receive such a question would obviously catch him off-guard. Then again, Hashirama was unaware that the girl he was referring to was his future granddaughter.

"No, she's not. Just a friend."

Hashirama sat upright and crossed his legs. "Tell me more about this mysterious girl!"

"I don't know much about her," he told truthfully, hanging his head low again. "I just need to find her, before…." Before they tamper with the past too much that it changes the future –– Naruto's generation, to be exact. They could end up being a catalyst for some kind of grand scheme that will gravely affect the future generations. If they weren't too careful, they could ruin everything. After all, this was where _everything_ started, in the First's generation.

"I see…." He looked crestfallen. "I'm sorry –– if I had any say in this, I would let you go, but I don't."

"No need to apologize…"

"Father's coming soon."

"An interrogation, huh?" He wanted to chuckle.

"The sharingan: how did you get it?"

Kakashi closed his eyes tightly, taking himself back to the distant memory he locked from his brain. The sudden impact of a falling stone changed everything. He fell and Obito saved him from his demise. He then gave him his eye to see the future. Thinking about it all made his lips purse, but he didn't let it crack through his façade.

"I… don't remember," he lied.

"Hashirama," a masculine voice called from afar. "Get out of there now!"

"Y-Yes, father!" He hurriedly scurried out of the cellar after waving him goodbye.

Butsuma stepped into the darkened seclusion with his arms crossed, glowering down at the helpless child who was chained to the wall. He dipped his hand down and grabbed a hold of Kakashi's face, forcibly yanking his face up towards him. His lips twisted in scorn at the closed eye.

"That eye, child…." He dangerously spoke. "You're going to use it for the Senju clan."

"You're going to bargain with an unknown child with a sharingan? Isn't that like pitting yourself with an Uchiha?"

"The difference is, you're not an Uchiha –– at least, not a full-breed. My son, the one you fought, informed me that your name is Kakashi Hatake. The fact that you said that you're a Hatake and not an Uchiha speaks volumes."

"I may have lied."

"You do not have the characteristics of the Uchiha clan. Not to mention, your chakra signature is not like the Uchiha. If anything, you're nothing but a puppy compared to some of the Uchiha I have encountered."

"Still, to rely on a sharingan…" he openly mused.

"I don't care how you obtained it –– whether your line was mongrelised by an Uchiha –– but I do want to use it to end this war between us clans. It has gone on for far too long."

Kakashi hung his head down again. "I'll help, but in one condition…"

"You're not on the negotiating side here, boy."

"I need to look for a friend of mine. I will not be locked up in this cellar –– and I will be able to train as if I were a fellow member of your clan."

"I am a Senju––!"

"I'm aware." He dryly said, craning his neck again. "That's why your killing intent for an Uchiha is almost palpable. Had I been an Uchiha, you would have surely killed me in an instant. You wouldn't negotiate. But since I'm an outcast from both clans –– Hatake and Uchiha –– you're willing to cooperate."

"I'm only doing this because you possess the sharingan. The matured pattern of it as well. Only the Head of the Uchiha and a couple of others have such a pattern. For you –– a non-full breed ––to have such a pattern is unheard of." He folded his arms again, "If the Senju clan were to obtain the power of the sharingan, we can finally take the lead in the war. Even though you only obtain one eye, you have a rare patterned tomoe. It's more powerful than most clan members of the Uchiha."

"Do you agree to my terms or not?"

Butsuma rolled his shoulders back, easing slightly. "Fine, but I'm going to assign both of my sons to survey your every move. If you try and leave this area Kakashi, there will be _consequences_."

"I'm ready for them." He smiled. At least, he managed to negotiate a little bit of his freedom. It was better than being bound in a cellar without a source of light. This could still mean that he will have a chance to find the Fifth Hokage.

In order to keep the past from being tampered with any further, he needs to find her – _pronto_.

* * *

Tsunade sauntered into the territory of the Uchiha with caution. For such a uniformed clan, they sure lacked the precedence of having lookouts and patrols for any enemies. Madara was immediately greeted by a smaller Uchiha who raced up to him with a sword in his hand. "Brother!"

She was taken aback slightly when she saw Madara smile and pat his younger sibling on the head. Her demeanour fell downcast. Their sibling love and affection reminded her of Nawaki, and how he would always greet her like that… in the past.

She clenched the fabric of her clothing and looked away, refusing to witness anything more that will just remind her of the past she used to have. However, no matter how much she reprimanded herself in her head, her eyes traced back to Madara and his sibling grinning about sparring later that night.

Having a sibling must be nice, she sadly thought.

"Izuna," the older Uchiha finally said as he gestured towards her, "this is Tsunade."

The other Uchiha glanced at her and frowned. "She's not an Uchiha."

"A civilian," Madara clarified. "Father told me to keep the civilians away from the battlefield. We were initially going to take her to the outskirts to flee and find refuge, but…."

"You changed your mind?"

"Yes. That's why I need to speak to father. Immediately."

Tajima appeared from the corner of their main compound with a stoic expression. "You asked for me?"

Madara immediately showed his respect and bowed down. "Yes, father. I'd like for you meet Tsunade. She's the one who saved the elders of our clan."

Tajima's attention shifted to the blonde girl, eyeing her from head to toe. A girl saved the elders? No girl –– or woman –– was privy in the battlefield. Yet his son was claiming that she saved his lost clansmen? What in God's name is happening? "I thought I said that all civilians were to be taken to the outskirts for safety. Why did you bring her here?"

"Father," Madara calmly spoke. "She's an expert in medical ninjutsu."

"A…. what?" His clan lacked from such an ability. Whilst his clan had the gift of sight that the Senju lacked, they were rendered naught from the ability to heal. They didn't specialise in such expertise –– yet the Senju thrived in it. To have a woman to have healing abilities was a godsend. Finally, they could heal wounded soldiers quicker and more efficiently. Even though it's just one medical ninja, it was still better than the odds of having none.

"It's true, Tajima-sama," the woman whom Tsunade healed earlier on added. "She healed the deep laceration on my arm within a couple of seconds!"

He stared at Tsunade with heightened interest.

"You'll do."

She frowned in return. "What do you mean?"

"From now on, you'll be responsible for healing all the clan members. In exchange, we'll keep you fed and safe."

Tsunade swallowed thickly at the predicament she found herself in. This was a devil's offer. By healing the Uchiha members, she will be betraying her own clan who were fighting on the other side.

However, by doing this and cooperating with them, maybe she could change the trajectory of the course of time. Maybe she could change the outcome and the chain of hatred that still feeds into the present generation.

She looked at Madara who waited for her answer.

"Fine. As long as you keep your end of the deal."

Tajima smirked, "Do not fret, I'm a man of my word."

For the second time, the Fifth glanced at the boy who will later on: wage war against the Leaf, and attempt to destroy it with the Nine-Tails. Her eyes tightened. For the sake of the future –– to change everything ––

Madara will be her main priority.

* * *

 **Exciled3**


	3. Chapter 3

_The delay is because we merged our writing together! It took quite some time to find a medium we both were comfortable with. I bet you can't really differentiate our work now! *grins triumphantly* Also, a big thank you for the great reception! I didn't think that this fic would garner quite an audience already. :)_

 _The said disclaimer still stands: this story is_ _crack_ _. Don't be butt-hurt when things happen and you go: "WTF?" I've warned y'all for the second time - and this is the last. Do you still want to read? Then_ _WELCOME!_ _:D_

* * *

 **The Battlefield of the Young**

* * *

"This is where you will sleep," Madara gestured to the open-spaced room they had –– clearly devoid of any unnecessary furniture. It had a bed, a drawer to keep the clothes in, and a lattice screen to get changed behind. Although barren, the sliding doors towards the koi pond they held inside the compound brought in a sufficient amount of sunlight to lift up the overall setting of the mundane room.

Tsunade slumped her shoulders back and rolled her eyes. It wasn't a room she has grown accustomed to –– being in the Hokage chambers and all –– but she was a ninja who was flexible in any given situation. Room preference shouldn't be a problem for a person who previously slept on mud during the Second Shinobi War.

"Perfect," she said finally.

The shaggy-haired Uchiha arched a brow at the blonde, as he thinned his lips. "You look familiar." His sudden speculation was as sharp as the weapon he held behind him. Although without the fearful blood-laden eyes, Tsunade could feel the extent of his scrutiny as he fleshed her out with his frozen gaze. After several moments of musing around, he resigned his defeat and placed his hands on his hips, shaking his head. "I need some sleep."

Relief flooded back into the Fifth, knowing well that she has managed to get away from his steeled eyes. Since she had great resemblance with her grandfather; it wouldn't be a surprise to see Madara grow suspicious about her origins. She merely smiled, half-heatedly, out of relaxation knowing that her identity was still shrouded in mystery. For now, she's just a girl who was God's blessing to the Uchiha clan.

Much to their dismay, she was no blessing.

"So do you," she lightly retaliated. "You look like a commoner."

He expressed a slanted-grin, beyond amused at how ferocious her bite was, even after the reveal of his affiliation. He's never met someone to have such a fiery spirit in the presence of his clan before. The sight of seeing someone quiver in fear had become the common sight, that he's forgotten that people like her _actually_ existed. Her expression, her strength…. it was unlike he's ever seen before.

"Where did you learn medical ninjutsu?" He asked in a more serious tone, levelling his gaze slightly.

Tsunade leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest, smirking highly at him. "It's for me to know, and for you to find out." Just as he was about to protest, she added: "I will provide aid for your people, but you will not have the right to inquire more about me. I hate talking about myself."

The look on Madara's face suggested that he didn't seem to mind. "Then I'll make it my business to find out more about you, Tsunade. If that's even your _real_ name." He inserted his hand inside his kimono and allowed his arm to rest in it before he casually walked out of her room with a look of determination. "Let's talk some other time," he waved lazily without looking back, wandering down deeper into the hall until his silhouette was nowhere to be seen.

She sighed and slid the door closed. "Good grief…" This was going to be harder than she thought. Not that she's concocted an effective plan as of now. Since Madara was rumoured to have caused the calamity of the Nine Tails' Invasion –– it would mean that he found a way to _cheat_ death. Which was quite impossible to do since Hashirama saw to his death.

Could it just be a rumour or was it the truth?

Did Madara _actually_ find a way to cheat death?

"What's your name again?" A brisk voice echoed in the room, startling the blonde immediately.

She turned on her heels, ready to gather up enough chakra from her system to garner up enough power to initiate an offensive strike. However, she fell still on her feet when she saw a pair of stone-cold eyes coolly analysing her brash move.

"You're…!"

"Izuna," he finished. "Madara is my older brother."

"I see…" Shit, she mentally swore. The boy's presence was kept hidden for such a long time that she didn't even sense him. His features, those damned eyes, and that protective gaze were far too familiar. He wore the shadow of Sasuke Uchiha's persona and appearance –– along with that overwhelming admiration for his older brother. Damn it all to hell. If he's going to be anything like Sasuke, he will certainly hinder her from her future plans.

Izuna waited quietly for several seconds before he asked again, "What's your name?"

This time, the blonde didn't flinch. "Tsunade."

"No affiliation?" He prodded further. The scrutiny lying deep in his pupils were all too revealing. Not even the darkest depths of his obsidian eyes could hide the scepticism he held against her.

Her lips curled into a foxy grin. This has been the first time –– in a _very_ long time –– that someone has had such an audacity to stare daggers right in front of her. From a child, no less. Before he could open his mouth to further back her into a corner, she quirked her eyebrow up. "Should it matter?"

"It does."

"Being an orphan leaves you without an affiliation. Orphaned children are common, especially in this senseless war."

"Then how do you know ninjutsu?"

"Is it a crime to know of such a thing?"

"You're not bred to be a ninja. Of course it arouses suspicion."

"You talk too much for your age, you know that." Her hazel eyes darkened into a more molten hue, highlighting her growing agitation. "You don't need to be bred to be a ninja to have access to chakra. Chakra, once accessed, can be used in two different ways: to kill or to save. I chose to save. From thereon I have harnessed and refined my abilities as a medic."

Izuna took a careful step forward, eyeing her with amusement. "For one, my age does not define my intelligence, so don't mistake me for a mere brat. Secondly, you're wrong –– killing people can also save others. What do you think this war is about?"

"You tell me." She crossed her arms again.

"It's to save our existence; even if that means killing off those who want to exterminate us." His lips thinned in the same manner Madara's did. "You're not an Uchiha, and I don't trust outsiders. But since my brother brought you here, I'll give you my benefit of the doubt."

Tsunade feigned a smile. "You won't regret it."

* * *

"Madara," the Head Clan called out sternly from the shadows.

His son halted from his hasty tracks and looked over his shoulder, eyeing him like a hawk. "Father," he addressed back evenly, hiding his perturbed nature. He was already in great danger of being late to his secret rendezvous with the mysterious bowl-head kid. They promised to spar today –– it would most definitely suck to miss that opportunity.

"Do you trust that girl?" Tajima softly asked. "She's causing a divide within the clan. That's the last thing we need, but we need a medic in this field. If you give me your confidence, my dear son, then I will also relay my trust on that girl throughout the entire clan."

Madara rested his arm in his kimono. "I don't know yet, father. We'll know soon enough, anyway. So far, from what I've gathered, she's more than she seems. She's a powerful and gifted girl. We'll just have to give it some time."

He nodded understandably, "It's your call, my son."

"And this is it." The youngster dipped down and grabbed a small stone, smirking slightly. "Excuse me, father, I'm going out for a second."

"What are you going to do?"

"Skip stones." He innocently smiled.

* * *

Kakashi shamelessly dragged his barefeet behind Butsuma who strictly escorted him around their headquarters. He received the same stern glances from each and every member of the Senju clan. They were analysing his abilities –– and were weighing if he was worth to be gambled on. Each stare, each contortion of facial features, each sigh left the silver-haired ninja quite amused with the mono-expression they welcomed him with.

Since when were clans ever friendly with him anyway?

At the end of the shroud of the crowd was Tobirama with a gigantic sword resting on his shoulder. The weapon could have easily been his size, but that didn't seem to deter the ambitious boy from choosing it as his replacement for the sword Kakashi broke in their _incident_ yesterday. He pursed his lips but he remained resilient despite his explosive nature. Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle.

It turns out Tsunade took after her grand-uncle rather than her grandfather.

"You'll be guarding him for the day, Tobirama," Butsuma sharply ordered. "Your brother has gone out into the woods to patrol. So I'm leaving you with this boy –– don't let me down, understand?"

He nodded obediently. "Yes, father."

"Good."

Kakashi approached Tobirama and jumped on the boulder platform he stood on. He sat down and took a breather. "I'm not going anywhere."

The other boy stabbed his sword into place, creating a divide between him and the outsider. As moments passed them along with the gentle breeze that interweaved with the locks of his hair, Tobirama's patience was put on a whim by the other boy's seemingly infinite knack of silence. In all honesty, he would have been less surprised if Kakashi had already thrown in the towel and pleaded to be set free. Yet, that didn't happen.

"Get up," he sharply ordered, picking his sword back up from its rested state.

Kakashi cocked his head to the side, "Huh?"

"We're going to train." He hopped off the platform and headed towards the forest, swaying side to side in an unstable manner because of the weight of the sword.

The masked boy smirked and followed obediently. By the looks of it, he had just won the silent competition with the Senju.

They walked in a single file in silence, allowing for the soft chirps of birds to fill the void. Albeit Tobirama would grunt every once in a while as he would look over his shoulder, it was still devoid of any human conversation. Kakashi followed like a loyal dog would, casually surveying the terrain they trudged through with a high level of scrutiny.

"Siblings?" Tobirama suddenly inquired –– a half-assed attempt to start a conversation.

Initially, the Jōnin shook his head but found that verbal communication would be more beneficial in terms of bonding with the Second. "No," he dryly answered back. "My mother died when she gave birth to me. It's suffice to say that I was the first and the last."

Whilst the response was said without much thought or effort, Tobirama still picked up on the sharpness of his tone. It was as if he blamed himself for the death of his mother. One could not be so sure, but upon looking back –– he saw _it_. The look of sorrow staining the features of his face only confirmed his initial analysis.

He turned back round, clenching hard around his sword. Being emotionally attached was not in his comfort zone, but the oozing dark aura was just too hard to ignore. "What about your father?" Surely he was still alive. He's probably still in the Hatake compound.

"Dead. He committed suicide when I was five –– or was I six?" He lobbed his head to the side and narrowed his eye slightly at his own question. As he continued with his own private tour and change of scenery, he could feel the tension coil between them. He knew he was being blunt, but he was doing it consciously with reason. Wallowing in fragments of memories only lets unwanted feelings manifest, and he hates unnecessary things in his life. As long as he continued to answer the Second's questions, he was bound to be fine.

Tobirama stopped suddenly. "Hey," he lowly began, "how can you say such sensitive things so casually?"

"Say what casually?" Kakashi stood several feet from the boy, pushing his hands into his pockets with a nonchalant look.

"Your family is dead. Yet you can recall such events with ease?" He persisted, teeth gnashing together in frustration. "What are you? Are you some kind of––!"

"Machine?" His sudden interruption was enough to make the Senju flinch back for the first time. Then, Kakashi's eyes arched upwards in a meek way. "That's the perfect description of me. I have been trained to fight proficiently with a pack of kunai and some strings since I could walk –– maybe even before that." His eyes levelled with the maroon pair. "You're right, I'm a machine of war. Not the finest, but can easily be one of the deadliest."

Tobirama, for the first time, felt the magnitude of his chakra. Just staring into his eyes alone made him tremble in his spot. The way he lazily expressed himself was more deadly than anyone could imagine. He was a multi-layered man –– unpredictable… _and_ powerful. If utilised right, he would ascend to a deadly asset to the Senju clan.

However, the presence of the boy was enough to let the first layer of his defence down. His squared shoulders eased as he expressed his sympathy for the scarred child. "I have brothers who have died recently because of this senseless war." He looked away, "My mother was tortured and killed by the Uchiha clan upon being captured. All I have left is my elder brother and my father." His hands clenched closed again, "And I will make damn sure that I will protect them."

Kakashi almost laughed again. This must have been one of the primary roots of where the Will of Fire originated from. The burning determination that brimmed around his eyes was enough to voice his character.

"What's so funny?" He inquired, offended by his outburst.

"Nothing," Kakashi quickly replied. "You just reminded me of someone I know."

 _Naruto…._

Tobirama gazed up at the sky. "We should carry on. It's about to rain."

"Right."

* * *

Tsunade continued to replenish her chakra back to its fullest potential by meditating in her room. The stillness and the silence of her surrounding alleviated the burden of having to sit in complete discipline to regain her lost chakra. Thanks to her heritage, her chakra gauge was beyond normal –– and hence, would take longer to fully recover than others.

However, when the door of her room opened in the slightest motion, her concentration snapped and so did her meditation. She looked over her shoulder and saw one Uchiha clan member huffing and puffing, completely drenched in sweat. Tajima followed the hysterical man with a contrasting emotion: unlike the younger man, he was poised and collected.

"It's time you showed us your worth, medic-girl." His eyes were burning with the pool of blood ––the mature pattern of the sharingan. "Follow me quickly."

Tsunade jumped up on her feet as quickly as she could. "W-Where?"

"We're heading out to the battlefield."

The journey was hasty and chaotic. Even at her given distance, she could hear the wails of despair and agony from both parties. She jumped from tree branch to tree branch, as she kneaded chakra around her hands for immediate use. The leader of the clan led the pack, fighting off the whimsical attempts of rookies with a mixture of kenjutsu and fire style techniques.

Tsunade swung down from the branch and smoothly landed on the mossy ground. Her muscles constricted upon impulse at the realization that before even stepping into the battlefield, Death already enshrouded around her. Her teeth trembled at the sight of her family crest on one of the fallen soldier's armour.

The faint metal clashes became more distinct now –– the fight was nearing towards her. Damn it all to hell. This was between the Senju and Uchiha, wasn't it?

"Watch out, Tsunade!" One voice called up from above.

Almost instantly, the blonde registered back into her surroundings, and evaded the deadly strike from the incoming katana. She leapt backwards and used her sword to stab into the ground to refrain herself from skidding even more. She glanced up and saw a young Senju member glaring holes into her existence. If only looks could kill, she thought in amusement. Her opponent had a premature face and tiny body –– he was yet to become a teen. The thought brought great disdain to the blonde's eyes; he was too young to be in this bloody war. She can't afford to kill him –– he was still a member of her clan.

The boy lunged up to her again. This time, she grabbed a hold of the sword and broke it in half, using her chakra-coated hand. After disarming her opponent, she punched him in the stomach and stole his consciousness from him before continuing to dash forward. Unbeknownst to her, Tajima was closely analysing her movements in the shadows as he simultaneously fought against the forces of the rivalling clan.

Tsunade relentlessly hurried towards the action, evading and swiftly dodging enemy fire that was directed at her. As she ran through the wooded area, she carelessly set off a trap which sent a titanic log of trees to crash her way. Deeply agitated by its interference, the blonde summoned enough chakra to tear through two layers of the traps like it was paper. Tajima smirked, she was better than he had thought.

"Retreat!" The men from the Senju clan called out. "Retreat!"

The leader of the Uchiha clan halted and gestured for his men to do the same. They watched the remaining Senju sprint to safety, leaving the wounded and the dead. He turned on his heels and clicked his fingers at the men, giving them a silent order. Like machines programmed to do one thing: they unsheathed their swords and began to pierce their wounded enemies in the heart. Tsunade was frozen in place, mouth hanging low.

Her clansmen were getting slaughtered right in front of her.

"What are you doing?!" she gasped out at Tajima. "You have defeated them. Why are you proceeding to kill them? This is breeding more senseless battles! Let them go; let me heal them."

He grappled her by her forearm with a burning look of hatred. "They are going to be corpses for the enemies to collect. and for the vultures to feast on. This is the reality, Tsunade. It may dishearten you and cause great discomfort in your stomach, but you'll soon grow used to it. After all, you have already signed a covenant with my clan."

She stared, traumatized by the canvas that was being painted with her own clan's corpse. The Uchiha surrounded her –– and her gut tightened in a sickening way. At the end of the day, her DNA was still of a Senju, melding with the Uchiha was certainly not an easy task to do. But this was the reality, she told herself. She was not a naïve girl who expected paradise beyond the horizon. War was her second nature –– people either kill or get killed.

Those were the rules of this bloody game. They were just mere pawns playing along this orchestrated war until one side would claim checkmate on the other. But she knew better –– she had the benefit of hindsight –– no one won at the end. Both clans ended up destroying themselves with the power they had acquired.

Although no one would think of it now, in nearly one hundred years from now: both clans would be in near extinction.

"Do the job you promised to do," Tajima inserted his arm inside his kimono and stepped out from the scene.

Tsunade found the closest member and knelt down beside him. After moulding enough chakra in her palms she pressed it against the man's gaping wound and began to knit it close. After closing the deadly wound, she ripped off a portion of her top and tied it around his abdomen. "Don't move just yet," she gently whispered. "Sleep it off. You'll be fine now."

She moved on to the next victim, whilst ignoring the jagged pleas of her _own_ clan members with sourness. As she patched up an Uchiha soldier, the scope of her hazel eyes spotted a desperate Senju reaching out to her for help. His dry mouth formed the same syllable over and over again until he drew his last breath.

 _Help._

 _Help._

 _Help._

Tsunade closed her eyes and attempted to calm her nerves. Her hands shook with regret and her eyebrows furrowed together with bitterness. She wanted to save him, because she knew she _could_. The laceration he had was nothing but practice for her. But there was nothing she could do for him in this circumstance, and it disgusted her that she had to force herself to look away and feign deafness.

As she trudged through the Sea of Death, her ankle was harshly tugged on. She stopped and looked straight down at the desperate soldier who gawked at her. "You're not an Uchiha…." he hoarsely whispered, "….don't be like them. You're not––"

 _Slash._

Madara suddenly flickered in the scene with a sharp katana in his arsenal. He had mercilessly decapitated the man to silence him. He swung his sword and dispelled the disgusting blood of his enemy from his blade. His stone-hued eyes glowered at the man's pitiful corpse without remorse etching his features. He merely kicked it to the side before proceeding to patrol around the corpse-filtered area.

Tsunade's legs finally gave in. She fell on the bloodied ground; her hands soaked in _their_ blood, her clan's blood. She had just allowed him to die. That man was right –– she was _not_ an Uchiha. She bit into her bottom lip and suppressed her emotion. _Fuck_ _this_. For this to be called a war was almost laughable; children were fighting in the stead of adults, being blind and ignorant martyrs. This _wasn't_ war.

This was just the gateway to senseless Death in the guise of righteousness and peace.

Madara stepped back to her, feeling her disdain at the procedure that was being handed out. He reached out and tried to dip his hand down, but he stopped –– his instincts told him to retain his distance, so he did. He withdrew and begrudgingly left the blonde to crack at her own accord.

"This is war," he whispered to himself, kicking through the corpse of both Uchiha and Senju. His teeth gritted together. "This is war…" he reiterated. "And I will incinerate every single idea of it."

" _We can build a settlement right here!"_

"Hashirama," he openly mused out, "Your utopia doesn't sound too bad, after all."

* * *

On the other side of the forest, a few miles up ahead, thuds of fists echoed sharply. Kakashi felt the full extent of Tobirama's punch when he delivered his own into his face. They both staggered backwards, drenched in both bruises and sweat. However, the Second was more responsive and was able to sweep a chakra-coated kick at the masked boy.

Kakashi grunted out loud when his crossed arms absorbed all of the force from his offence. He flipped backwards and found his footing. However, another strike was already directed his way by that time. He evaded just in time, putting a safe amount of distance between him and his opponent. He wiped the sweat off his forehead, as he counted the breaths he took in his head. His breaths were far too ragged for his liking. He was no longer respiring efficiently –– and his muscles were beginning to throb.

That being said, he was doing far better than the Senju. Tobirama was already spent and his attacks no longer had the same impact as it once did. Tobirama was holding the side of his stomach, heaving heavily in a groggy way. "Even with one eye, you still fight well."

"It comes with practice," he curtly replied.

The white-haired man lightly smirked. "Let's call this a draw for now."

Kakashi sank down on the ground and nodded with relief. "I agree."

"You two are getting along well!" Hashirama chirped in from the blue, jumping down from a treetop.

"We're sparring, not having a tea party, brother." Tobirama sat down and leaned against the tree. "You need to work on concealing your chakra. I could sense you from a mile away." Whether it was a joke or not, Hashirama was sent crying to the corner.

"It was that bad, huh?" He curled up into a ball and sulked. "I-I'm sorry… I'll do better next time."

The younger brother pouted in return. "Quit sulking. That's what babies do, _not_ for soldiers ––so _stop_ crying."

Hashirama pitifully wiped his comical tears away. "I'll try!"

Kakashi laid flat on the ground, staring up at the grey-hued sky. His eye involuntarily blinked several times when specks of water littered onto him from above. He shot back up on his feet at the sudden wave of creativity that struck him like a truck. He looked at his dominant hand and back up at the bleeding sky which was bedarkened and weeping. Streaming grey clouds writhed on, crackling lightly with pent up energy it desperately wanted to release.

 _Lighting._

He gazed back down at his hand.

The pitter-patter of silver droplets dampening the soil below him gave him unsettling chills. He has rested for far too long. He had nearly forgotten about his real objective –– _Tsunade_. He still needed to find her. And if he can't physically set off to look for her, he would have to make sure that she knows that _he_ was still alive. At least, by then, they would be on the same page.

He jumped onto a tree branch and emitted a bit of lightning around his fingers.

"Look at what you've done!" Tobirama continued to scold. "It's raining because of you!"

"Now that's just too harsh!" Hashirama fought back.

Just as the Senju brothers were about to get into a senseless squabble, the sharp sizzles from Kakashi's hand punctured their ears, making them crane their necks up. They didn't exactly know what he was up to, but it was still enough to leave them deeply unsettled.

"What are you doing?" The eldest asked at the top of his voice.

"I'm going to send her a message." He released more electricity around his palm before he directed it upwards. "And I'm going to find her." His palm opened wide and the sizzles of his lightning grew rampant with the aid of water.

"W-W-Wait… Kakashi!" shouted Tobirama.

* * *

Tsunade sat on the rooftop of the main compound, deep in contemplation, inhaling and exhaling lightly, trying to make peace reside within her again. Soft rustles from crinkled amber leaves filled the loneliness which polluted around the Fifth; the zephyr in the atmosphere caressed her exposed neck, jawline and lips before it softly weaved through her golden strands.

Though she expressed a peaceful exterior, deep inside she was experiencing an agonizing sense of turmoil. She had completed her duty with diligence, resulting to more than a dozen of Uchiha being saved. Yet, her heart still ached at the fact that despite it all, she couldn't save her own flesh and blood from the shackles of the Uchiha.

It was a lost cause, she knew, but that didn't change the fact that they were...

"How are you holding up?" Madara casually sat beside her, sharing the same breathing space. He continued to look forward towards the dark slopes of the mountains where the dark clouds writhed in. In a soft voice he said, "It gets easier." It was his way to comfort her.

Tsunade arched a brow, "Is that what you tell yourself?"

"No. I tell myself that I am the saviour of this world." He produced a slanted smile, "It makes me sleep easier at night, you know."

She chuckled lightly. "Fool."

"That may be so, but it's better than giving up so easily." He finally made eye contact with her. "I saw your eyes back then, Tsunade. I know it's your first time seeing a corpse so close––"

"It's not my first time," she darkly confessed, hugging her knees closer to her chest. Her hazel eyes were shadowed when she leaned her forehead against her legs. "…This is just different." They were her family.

Madara leaned forward and observed the darkened clouds up ahead. "War is never different." Distinct cackles of untamed lightning echoed from within the greyed area up ahead. It wasn't natural lightning either. His onyx eyes tightened along with his chapped lips. "Be it family or enemy, they become nothing but moving pawns when battle starts. So detach yourself from those people you saw, Tsunade. They died with purpose; don't take that away from them."

The cackling grew more vibrant. Its bright light shone as brightly as the sun before it disappeared in the realms of the dark clouds. However, the darkness completely dispersed when the lightning expanded with a distinct sound of a thousand birds. Its electricity branched in the darkness and vigorously sparked in the sky, creating one word.

"…Gamble?" He spoke out loud in confusion, grasping for his sword immediately. "What the hell?"

Tsunade shot up on her feet, seeing the vibrant blue message that scattered from afar. That sound generated from lightning was distinct enough, but to receive a message that represented her hobby was a _bigger_ bonus. "…Kakashi," she whispered under her breath in relief. He was still _alive_. Her lazy-ass subordinate was still alive. She clenched her dominant fist with a grin.

Knowing that he was alive was enough to give her strength. After all, who was going to punch him to Hell and back if she were to succumb to this?

* * *

 _"Can you see this!?"_ He eagerly vociferated as he strung his last web of power to the lightning up above them.

Both Hashirama and Tobirama watched in awe after being rendered silent by the boy's capabilities to completely tame lightning. It generated so much electricity that it awoken the unforgiving Heaven from above. Streaks of thunder clapped down to the ground, cutting through the branch Kakashi stood on. Quickly, the silver-haired boy leapt forward and rolled on the ground. The First grabbed his hand immediately and tugged him along, "Come on, we're going before we get toasted!"

"I told you not to do it!" scolded Tobirama, grabbing his gigantic sword from the ground.

"I'm sorry," he wearily apologized. "There was no other way."

He sighed out and continued to lead the way back to their headquarters. "Just make sure you find this wretched girl you're looking for, you hear me?! I don't want this to be in vain, considering it nearly took my leg off!"

Hashirama laughed mightily. "You exaggerate, brother. It was a tiny zap."

" _Tiny?!"_ He bellowed back. "It was _not_ tiny!"

As they blitzed through the woods with great skill to evade the thunder strikes, Hashirama noticed that Kakashi's footsteps had grown silent. He jumped back around and saw that the masked-boy had fainted on the muddy terrain. "Kakashi!" He shouted, dashing back to his aid.

"Brother!" Tobirama shouted back, "Watch out!"

It was already too late: the lightning had already struck downwards onto them. Upon impact, there was a blinding light that shone forth along with a destructive shockwave that obliterated everything within its radar. A blinding roar scraped throughout the wooded area as a giant cloud of debris enshrouded around the two.

Without delay, the younger Senju jumped into the scene and cleared the debris out of the way, only to see a titanic wooden shield erected from the ground. Hashirama stood, weak-kneed, with his sweaty hands clamped together.

"Wood-style…" he whispered finally, releasing his hands with relief.

"Brother, you just….." Tobirama had to blink several times. "You just combined earth and water together!"

Hashirama sheepishly scratched the back of his head, "It was a fluke. I don't even know how I did it."

" _Still!_ –– It withstood a lightning strike."

The First shook off the compliment with a light smile before he looked down at the unconscious boy. "He exhausted himself from that move." He knelt down and searched for a pulse. Luckily, Kakashi's pulse was still strong. With a few hand seals, he emitted a strong green glow on his palm, which he used to heal Kakashi with. "His power is being restrained by his own chakra gauge."

"I've never seen anyone with such a small gauge." Tobirama placed one hand on his hip in thought, stabbing his sword back into the ground. "If he's from the Hatake clan, his reserves should, at least, rival ours."

"That's not the point…." He said suddenly. "He's not tapping into his reserves. Along with that, the sharingan is exhausting his supply all the time. Even when closed, it's still activated, meaning it is still in need of chakra."

"We need to report this back to father. He needs to know this setback."

"No," he shook his head. "If you tell father, he might kill Kakashi. Leave him to me."

"To you?"

"Yeah." He picked up his body and slung him over his shoulder with relative ease. "I'm going to train him."

* * *

Kakashi was laid down in Tobirama's bed, much to his initial dismay, in a fresh set of clothes. Hashirama walked past his brother and headed towards the meeting room that was held in another hut. They walked side by side in silence.

"Brother," Tobirama finally said, "Are you sure that you would want to train him?"

"Why are you doubting my decision?"

"If he gets too strong he might betray us."

"You're too wary, my dear brother." The First calmly responded. "He won't betray us. Can't you tell by the way he looks at us?"

"Looks?" He was the best sensory Senju there was, but that didn't mean he was the best facial expression reader.

Hashirama waggled his finger in the air, "There's this look in his eyes that just reassures me that he won't betray us."

" _That's_ going to be the basis of your hypothesis?!"

"You bet it is."

A sweat dropped on the younger boy. This was going to be disastrous.

They entered in the hut and sat down at the back of the crowd. Their father was standing at the front, enraged more than ever before. His narrowed eyes were murderous and his downcast lips were dangerous. Their father was pissed –– like _really_ pissed. Hashirama cocked his head to the side like a confused puppy whereas Tobirama grew more calculative.

"We are changing posts," Butsuma said matter-of-factly. "The Uchiha are beginning to close in, and it would be a big gamble to let them in close. We can't afford to put our women and children at risk."

"When are we changing posts, Sir?" One member asked.

"Tonight. We're leaving _tonight_." He scanned for his sons in the room with steeled eyes. "Get ready, the both of you."

"Why?" They asked in unison.

"We're going to pay the Uchiha back for what they've done." He crossed his arms. "Rumour has it, a gifted medical ninja is within their midst and that's why they didn't suffer as many losses as we did. We have already sighted a group of Uchiha in the West coast; if we're lucky, we will be able to kill that medical ninja." He gestured for one member to speak. "Describe their description."

"Y-Y-Yes!" the boy stuttered. "The medical ninja is a close-quarter combatant who's insanely strong. She crushed my sword like it was fine sand, sir. Moreover, she's quite agile and is not easily outwitted by simple devised attacks. When I encountered her, she was able to mess with my nervous system by sending electrical currents into my body. I couldn't fully move after a while ––not properly, anyway."

"Do you still remember what she looks like?"

The boy nodded and took the silence as his cue to continue. "She's a young girl with blonde hair and hazel eyes. From what I can remember, she seemed to be in her early-teens."

Hashirama flinched. "A girl?" And what's more was that she was even precise enough with her aiming that she was able to scramble the electrical pulses in _one_ hit. He hasn't heard anyone do that from the Uchiha clan before.

"Blonde with hazel eyes," Tobirama mused, cupping his chin at the thought. "Doesn't that description sound familiar to you?"

"Huh?"

Twin maroon eyes tightened with suspicion. "It sounds _exactly_ like the description Kakashi gave us about his _friend_."

"It could have just been a coincidence."

"It's too much of a coincidence, don't you think? An early teen who fits her description to the T is _not_ a coincidence. This person is the same one Kakashi wants to find."

"Where's Kakashi?" Butsuma loudly asked. "Get him up and prep him for battle."

"But father––!"

"I'm not repeating myself again, Hashirama. He's not your friend, so stop treating him like one. At the given opportunity, there's no doubt in my mind that he will betray us. After all, he's still a wild dog that needs to be tamed."

"…Yes father."

"We're heading out to kill those Uchiha bastards!"

* * *

When he opened his borrowed eye, every mundane colour began to pale. Everything came alive. Tendrils of the ckakra from everyone in front of him on the tree branches sat perfectly in his vision, creating a ghostly effect. His depth and perception sharpened at the expense of his chakra. Thankfully, the First gave him some of his chakra to help him through the upcoming trail that was bound to be exerting.

They remained propped on the tree branches with their chakras tightly leashed. Kakashi's fingers grew agitated around the handle of his sabre –– he was ready to strike. His dampened hair clung into his scalp and dropped down onto his closed eye, perfectly framing the deadliness of its scarlet hue. It pulsed with thirst before it began to swirl clockwise in languor.

Foreign chakra seemed to have agitated his eye, resulting to more of his chakra being sucked away. He held his breath and waited for the twig to snap. It was at that very moment that a sharp cracking sound broke through the rhythmic pitter-patter of the rain.

Finally, the signal came.

It was time for the dog to hunt.

Kakashi's chakra unleashed itself until it became raw and palpable –– visible for the naked eye to see. He latched onto his sabre and dashed downwards with the intent to kill, his cloak fluttering with the wind. Hashirama leapt over the tree tops and also swept down at the back of the group. Tobirama took a bolder approach and dashed towards the ignorant enemies with his water jutsu already intact.

" _IT'S THE FUCKING SENJU!"_ His voice soon failed him when Kakashi swooped from above and cut through him cleanly.

Hashirama swept the ground with his sword, as did Tobirama with his ninjutsu. Butsuma appeared from the shadows and eagerly mowed down the underlings in a single strike. His eyes dripped with an intent to kill –– and it wasn't going to be quenched until he had Tajima's head on a stick. He craned his neck upwards and saw the lithe movements of Kakashi, skilfully using the shadows to his advantage to strategically overwhelm his opponents –– just like a cold-hardened assassin.

 _One._

 _Two._

 _Three._

This was too easy, he clicked his tongue and continued roaring forward. These were children, pure and without the sharingan. How else could they fight against him? It didn't matter, he had a duty to exercise. His sword sliced through bones and skin in a single gesture before he was faced with a flaming ball of fire. His eyes widened instantly and he moved subconsciously from the posing danger.

His feet sloshed against the puddles and his hair stuck onto his wetted face. He hid behind a boulder and angled his sword slightly and watched as the reflection from the moon's light gave him the location of the hidden Uchiha. He closed his eyes and embedded his sword into the ground.

 _Ox. Rabbit. Monkey._

The air screamed with the sound of a thousand birds. Tobirama whipped his head back, as did Hashirama, in worry. Butsuma jumped up on a tree branch and watched in amusement. Streaks of blue lightning bolted from his palm and he further intensified it by channelling more chakra through it.

The mark stepped away from the shadow and scrambled away –– an attempt to flee.

Kakashi _moved._

Along with the deafening screech of his blood-thirsty jutsu, the path in which he took was completely abolished. He caught up to the desperate teen and jabbed his fist into his back, piercing through his heart and ribcage, taking the vestige of his life instantly. Blood splattered in a messy manner, but Kakashi's eyes were steeled from the situation.

This was their agreement.

He had to follow his orders to the T. At least, until he found Tsunade.

He glowered at his hand which was spoilt with warm blood. The blood pooled and spilt from his palm in the same dirty manner as Rin's did. The sensation of the boy's last heart beats were _still_ etched into his skin, as was Rin's. This was foul, he concluded, slashing at the thin air with his bloodied hand to discard the dripping rivulets from his fingertips.

"That was marvellous, Kakashi!" Butsuma praised. "You're not letting me down!"

The silver-haired man stood silently on the spot; his borrowed eye brimmed with a fiery sensation. It stung like his guilt. Was this Obito's way of reprimanding him? Was this the future Obito had hoped to see? He grunted and covered the scarred eye with his hand.

" _What's this?"_

A phantom spoke closely into his ear.

"… _.Are you filled with guilt?"_

Kakashi bit into his lower lip as he fought his own private battle.

" _Release me. Let's become one. Let's show them the true Cold-Blooded Killer Kakashi!"_

"Shut up!" He roared suddenly.

Tobirama, who was fast approaching to the masked boy, stopped in his tracks. He sensed an unknown phantom lingering within Kakashi's shadow, surfacing inch by inch without being tamed. He blinked several times, as a way to convince himself that he was being delusional. He blinked for the fifth time as the moon escaped from the shrouds of the clouds.

There, he saw in black and white, a fleeting image of Kakashi's alter ego, proving that he _wasn't_ hallucinating. However, its deathly shadow disappeared as fast as it appeared, leaving the Senju mildly befuddled.

Its blood-thirsty chakra had vanished.

… _.Huh?_

* * *

The air was polluted with thick, heavy smells of the vicious aftermath of death. Pungent odours spewed throughout the desolated forest potent with thick consistency of blood and... _death_ , all perforating through Kakashi's senses. Mismatched eyes coiled with blood-red, a typical red, reflected on the pool of blood which hugged the blackness of his sandals. Disarrayed limbs spewed around him, yet he was unfazed, calm and content. His red eye –– the Sharingan –– swirled erratically in its own blood-pool orb before it curved into its matured form. His gaze roved over his slain targets, disarrayed in a melange of limbs and lacerations before his feet –– and yet his eye pulsed coldly, swirled in languor, untouched by the carnage it wrought.

He flung his sabre to his side then retracted it back into its case.

Hashirama shared a look with his brother but decided to stay quiet. Butsuma approached the Hatake and smirked. "You did well for your first mission, Kakashi. You really condemned those Uchiha bastards to hell."

"I need…. to rest," he idly spoke, eyes dimmed from their colour. "I've seen enough deaths for the night."

While Kakashi was young externally, his outward thoughts and emotions were akin to a jagged war veteran, Tobirama thought quietly to himself. Hashirama tightened his forehead protector and eased a smile onto his lips. "Let's go home, brother."

The white-haired Senju smiled back and offered his brother a high five.

"Mission accomplished."

* * *

Kakashi broke out of the broken memory with a sudden jolt. Nothing like last time. It wasn't calm nor languid. It was chaotic and rigid. He came awake in sudden thrashes under his sheets, wailing and screaming out loud. He felt as if his diaphragm had clutched and suffocated his lungs to such an extent he couldn't breathe anymore.

Finally, his hands fumbled with his sheets and ripped it off him. He sat up with his sweating palms planted firmly on the mattress. He regained the tempo of his breathing again and his heart beats stopped skipping a beat.

Everything was fine he told himself.

 _Tried_ to tell himself.

The darkness was accompanied with the lulling silence in his new chambers. He stared up at the ceiling as he outstretched his hand to the slither of light that pierced into the room. Even though he was naught of blood, his eyes still tightened at the phantom traces of it.

" _K-K-Kakashi…"_

"Rin," he spoke out loud. She didn't need to die. But she did anyway. Would Obito still forgive him, he thought. Would he still give his signature cheeky grin and say that everything was alright? He shook his head, knowing well that the Black Sheep would never forgive him for his inadequacy. She died because of the senseless war, the ––

 _War._ His eyes snapped open.

Everything that has happened was because of this chain-reaction that was birthed in this era. The power struggle between the Nations, the misplaced trust on traitors, the fear of the Senju and Uchiha have all led to the warring wars. If only he could change the trajectory by an inch…

….then maybe Rin would be able to live the life she deserves –– _with_ Obito.

Every decision has an effect. The greater the decision, the larger the effects, the more uncertain the consequences.

And changing the course of history –– and rewriting it –– was bound to cause a typhoon.

He closed his eyes at the reckless thought.

It would have to wait until tomorrow.

* * *

Tsunade awoke from her sleep, deeply dishevelled by fatigue. She sat up and used one hand to prop herself upright. She stared out to the moonlit sky, as if hearing the phantom thoughts that lingered in the air. Her lips curled upwards.

"That fool is beginning to stir."

* * *

 **xox** and **Exciled3**


	4. Chapter 4

_I'm still alive and writing!_

 _Guys, guys! I did it, I completed a chapter by myself!_ _ **E3**_ _did look over some of the scenes, but the vast majority was written by yours truly, since E3 was too busy :(. I'm quite proud, okay. (And nervous, and literally shitting myself as I post this). This is a new writing style that we both adopted, and it's quite hard getting the hang out of it. So please excuse any mistakes, I'll amend it quickly!_

 _Anyway, thank you, thank you for the support you're showing for this story! It's pleasing to see and read! And in regards with_ _ **Nizhal**_ _I'm glad this story is entertaining you, and I hope I won't traumatise you in any way. :))) (No promises, though XP). This story is not PWP, so you're good._

 _Again, thank you for the reviews and favourites and follows AND the amount of communities who have put this story in their archive - thank you!_

* * *

 **First Foot into the Sea**

* * *

The last dark of the night overlaid tendrils of light, struggling to break through, to announce the dawning of another day. Everything was quite in the Uchiha estate, perhaps too quiet –– for a mere human's perception. After several hours of countless contemplations and quiet reflection, Tsunade's molten-hued eyes dimmed and she started to drift off to sleep again. However, a short rustle of clothing punctuated through the perpetual quietness so sharply it made her jolt into a sitting position.

Light footsteps rang closely next to her door before it began to slowly fade out into the background. Tsunade laid back on her makeshift bed and listened closely. From what her hearing could collate, several kunais were being projected into the posts in the outdoor training ground. The repetitive sound of metal meshing into wood created a steady rhythm, filling in the lulling silence that cradled the Fifth's sceptical mind.

She shifted stiffly out of her bed and slipped out of her kimono and into her battle set. Quietly, she followed the distinct sound through the hallway until it dragged her outside. Madara was stood in the centre of the training ground with three kunais in between his fingers, eyes glinting with precision despite being devoid of the sharingan.

He lashed the projectiles harshly at the incoming target that swung from the canopy of the trees. It wasn't surprising that he managed to lodge all three kunais into the centre of the target board. He grinned with pride and even expressed a small fist bump to the air.

Madara drew another set and repeated his training. The sound of metal hitting wood stopped long before Tsunade entered his line of vision. If he was surprised by her sudden intrusion, Madaras hid it pretty well, but Tsunade knew better than to take his expressions –– or lack thereof –– as they came.

"It's a bit too early to start training, don't you think?" She said lightly, approaching the poor post which was filled with kunais. She pulled one out and twirled it on her hand, wielding it with such an elegant touch.

The Uchiha heir smirked slightly, throwing the last kunai he had to the furthest post, hitting it with a bullseye. "Training starts when you wake up and ends when you fall flat on your face." He wiped his hands clean and nodded forward, giving her a silent provocation. _Can you hit that post behind you? I bet you can't._

Tsunade gave him a haughty glare before she took another kunai from the post. With a feather-like touch, she shot the first kunai and waited for a second before she projected the second. The second kunai collided with the first, changing its direction towards the target. The kunai dipped slightly before it firmly embedded itself in the centre of the red circle.

"Bullseye." She placed one hand on her hip. "Not bad for a woman, huh?"

Madara ruggedly smiled. "I didn't say anything…."

"Out loud," she continued. "Your scepticism is palpable. You lack faith in my abilities because I'm a woman, and not a man."

"Well, technically, you're _not_ a woman. You're a _girl_ , Tsunade." He traced his way on the stone pavement towards the koi pond. He propped himself on the edge of the pond and languidly ran his hands through the water, watching the carb circle round and round, their bright scales shimmering under the moonlit sky.

Tsunade joined him beside the koi pond, sighing lightly. "Smartass," she lowly bit back under her breath.

Madara chuckled and withdrew his hand out of the pond. He took a quick glimpse at her before he forced himself to look back at the pond. "What…." he swallowed thickly before he steadied himself. "What do you think of this war? The entirety of it, I mean. You're someone who's not from the Senju nor the Uchiha; you're not plagued with eternal hatred for the other, you know what it's like to live outside this nature befouled with Death and Hatred."

She wanted to laugh. Little did he know that she was affiliated with the Senju clan; the direct descendent of his long-lived rival. That being said, she was never plagued with scorching hatred for the Uchiha. For one, she lived in a completely different era. Children were not being indoctrinated to manifest hate for the rival clan. They were taught the exact opposite, to reinstate peace and retain its stability. Her grandfather made sure of that. He didn't want to have a repeat of the Warring War between the Uchiha and Senju. And while her granduncle continued to remain suspicious of the clan, he never imposed his beliefs onto the younger generation.

"That's not for me to answer," she finally replied. "I'm sure this war has its reason. Do I think this is a senseless battle? Yes, I do. But that's only my perspective because I do not understand the importance of this war."

The Second Shinobi War's purpose was to expand colonial territory. The Third Shinobi War was due to small skirmishes with smaller villages sparking the light, and its purpose was to have the most superior village to have the final verdict –– to reintroduce peace over the lands. In hindsight, such travesties could have easily been evaded, but the sense of pride and superiority of the Nations dwindled the chances of any negotiations being laid.

She breathed out lightly, intertwining her fingers with the luscious springtime grass beneath her. "That being said, I do know one thing: immoral conduct will not defeat immoral conduct and form a better future. This will all just become an endless loop, breeding more hatred." Their gazes met for a breath's moment. "And this won't stop until no one is left standing," she finished coldly.

Madara directed his gaze up to the stars and closed his eyes. "I don't care about the meaning of this war. I don't care about pride and domination. All I care about is protecting my only brother. And in order to do that, I _need_ power." His hands clenched into a ball. "I need power to overthrow these ideals, to create a new system and take reign. I want to be able to leave my brother and know that he would be safe."

Tsunade listened appreciatively.

"I have a friend –– an ostentatious one –– who suggested that we build a settlement together." He laughed. "At first it sounded ridiculous, almost impossible, but now –– after feeling this power in my veins –– I think we can both do it. We'll become the revolution this world needs, and with that…." His eyes softened, "….I can protect my brother."

The blonde was the one this time to avoid his meaningful gaze. Siblings were certainly a treasure to have. _Nawaki…._ Her lower lip trembled at the thought of her brother, and how she had failed him as an older sister. He still had a lot to experience: his first S-rank mission, first love, and first kiss. Her brother died prematurely because of wars like these. She gritted her teeth and glowered at her shaking hands, seeing specks of blood frazzling her vision.

 _Nawaki….._

 _Dan…_

Their lost lives tainted her hands, and it sickened her. If only…

"You're shaking again," he lightly noted, intruding in her inner muse.

Tsunade jolted back to regain some distance between them, a feeble defence mechanism that left the young heir befuddled. He stood back up on his feet and observed how the greyed clouds were slowly transitioning into an azure hue. It was almost sunrise.

"Come," he gestured, to which she raised a questioning brow. "We still have some time to spar."

"Isn't it too early for that?" She asked, rising from her position.

Madara cocked his head to the side slightly, "What are you…?"

Her subsidised ire burst back into life before his tongue could even form the syllables.

"… _A girl?"_ he finished.

Her lids ascended; her eyes blazed. Blood-heat. Too much. Too soon. Her smile narrowed, adopted feral qualities. "You just _had_ to say it." If there was one thing Tsunade greatly loathed in the Shinobi World, it was sexism. The common belief that most people subscribed to: women were inferior and therefore useless.

He laughed, the sound of cool and sharp. She cracked her knuckles and clenched her fists dangerously, menacingly. Madara retreated into a masculine stance before he gave her a _come-hither_ look. Tsunade took the initiative and she flexed her limbs, spurring head on.

The Uchiha jumped back slightly and smirked, eyeing how lissom her movements were despite being fuelled by raw anger. His palm came into contact with her forearm so he could redirect her dangerous punch to the air. In that instant, a gust of air emitted from her punch and roughly skimmed past his hair. A sweat dropped on his temple.

He shouldn't have provoked her.

That being said –– he counter-attacked her punch –– this was going to be fun.

* * *

The same girl, the same eyes –– but _not_ the same dream. Rin didn't whisper, speak, or scream his name. She was silent, cold, limp in his arms, and Kakashi –– he held a thread of awareness, a scintilla of feeling, but he knew this wasn't his body. He was but a mere spectator, witnessing events through someone else's eye. Blood, too much, too warm, too thick –– slipping through his pores, bathing him in madness and the tangy scent of revenge.

 _This is Hell._

He came awake thrashing with violent, jerky motions, tangled in sheets, slick with perspiration and…tears. His left eye wept, in spite of his control. His lungs couldn't process air.

 _Air_ –– _I need air…_

One furtive glance at his sheathed katana, and he left.

* * *

Hashirama observed the Hatake's brash movement from afar, deep in the shrouds of the leaves, on a branch. He continued to stare at the repetitive movement of his hands shuffling against each other in the river, until his skin became brittle. Although he couldn't quite distinguish it, he could hear him murmuring quietly to himself. The act itself was desperate –– and rather personal –– and the naïve boy didn't know whether he should intervene.

Kakashi shook his head vigorously and refused to recount the amount of times he has been haunted by his dead comrade's final moments. He had been successful in keeping this memory hidden for a long time. The last time he dreamt of Rin was when he was starting his days in the ANBU. Sure, there was the occasional occurrence but the impact was nothing like this one.

Was this a sign?

He dried his palms on his lap and shakily sighed. Finally, his heart had stopped suffusing at such a rapid rate, and his palms had stopped trembling frantically. The sight of blood had vanished and his breathed reached its equilibrium state again.

Everything was _fine_.

Everything was _normal_.

Well…. apart from the fact that he was in the wrong era, everything was exactly the way they used to be.

"Did you have a bad dream?"

Kakashi turned slightly and saw Tobirama standing a few feet from him, giving –– what seemed to be –– a sympathetic look. He approached lightly and crouched beside him. He took his hand and scrutinized its state. He grunted under his breath and directed his glance down to the ground, silently recalling the first time he saw Kakashi actually fight. The boy was a genius in the battlefield; his fixation on the mission, his perfection with assassinations, all pointed to the same conclusion. Kakashi was a powerful asset, more so than himself. To think that after everything he has done, his hand would at least show the consequence of over-using that lightning technique.

"C-Can I have my hand back now?" Kakashi asked with uncertainty, not really appreciating their close proximity. When his hand became his own again, he was silently grateful. His shoulders slumped and he pinched his nose, feeling the over-bearing intrusiveness of his glare. "How much longer are you going to stare daggers into my face, Tobirama-san?"

"Until I get the outcome I want," he replied evenly, increasing his unyielding glare.

Moreover, the Senju couldn't help but ponder on the same question he had compiling at the back of his mind: what was that side he saw from Kakashi? His eyes were glazed with an enigma as he ran the field dry with the corpses of young Uchiha members. It's been a day since then, yet he still hasn't mustered the strength to inquire about it. (And that was unlike Tobirama Senju). Surely it had just been a hallucination. Kakashi isn't the type of person to have that kind of personality. He ––

"I dreamt of seeing a dear friend of mine die in my arms –– _again_ , for the thousandth time." The calmness of his words gave chills to the Senju, akin to the same sensation he felt when he saw Kakashi's darker side. There was something odd at how detached he spoke, despite the fact that he was actually emotionally invested on the matter. The possibility of PTSD worried the Senju. Such sickness would surely debilitate one's abilities as a ninja. That, and he had seen this overcome one's sanity, destroying them slowly in the mind and heart –– oscillating them from reality and figment of imagination.

Tobirama cleared his throat and hesitantly placed his hand on the masked boy's shoulder, giving as much comfort as he could in a little manner. His distaste on showing outward care deepened when he sensed his brother's chakra spew out uncontrollably like a giggling fangirl. His eyebrow twitched and his temper snapped.

Using the water source beside him, he moulded it into a miniature dragon and directed its catastrophic power directly at the tree his stupid brother was trying to conceal himself in. The tree collapsed and out came the overly-zealous man. Hashirama's butt bounced on the hard ground before he came to a sharp halt. He rubbed his head and groaned out in pain and surprise.

"That really hurt, Tobirama!" He checked his ass' condition and found that it was still in one piece. _Thankfully_. "What's the big idea, huh?"

"Quit eavesdropping, it's beyond disturbing." The younger Senju snapped, drawing his hand down. He folded his arms and rose firmly, glaring down at his brother like he always does. "Anyway, you haven't done anything productive today."

Hashirama pouted, "I just woke up, that's why."

"Take a day off, I'm taking over your shift." Tobirama turned his back to his brother and steadily paced back to their new temporary headquarters. He stopped suddenly and looked over his shoulder. "Just make sure you train Kakashi right." His maroon eyes glinted at the Hatake. "This better be worth it, Brother."

The First saluted his brother with a cheeky grin. "He may act like that but he's actually a very soft little brother inside." He turned to Kakashi and winked. "Now, let's go somewhere quieter. I have quite a few things to teach you."

Kakashi swatted the debris off his clothes and nodded. "After you, Hashirama-san."

* * *

Izuna almost stumbled aback when he saw his brother sparring –– or at this point, teaching –– Tsunade. Their spar from earlier was enough to wake up the whole compound, and the young Uchiha was glad that their physical training didn't escalate from there.

However, that didn't stop the spell of disdain tainting his tongue. He didn't like the idea of his brother being too open to a total stranger, regardless of the gender. She may be a girl, but that didn't mean that she wasn't lethal. Every living creature is lethal in their own way –– and Izuna wasn't ignorant to the strength of women.

Madara swung his sword in a lithe motion and directed its tip at the blonde. "Show me what I've taught you." His eyes tightened with anticipation.

Tsunade sprinted towards the Uchiha and swung her sword downwards with deadly precision. However, Madara parried her feeble attack with ease before he lunged forward and slashed through her arm's skin.

"I could have struck your heart," he remarked. _Swing. Swing. Swing._ Three consecutive lethal swishes happened in a flick of an eye, and Tsunade deflected them all. She staggered backwards and continued to be on the defensive when Madara continued to relentless assault through her blocks. "Is this the best you got?" He asked, slashing against her sword. "I would have been able to kill you by now."

She gritted her teeth and gained her distance. "Fighting with swords isn't my speciality."

" _Make it."_ He dashed forward and predicted the movement of her sword before she even made it. With movement like lightning, his sword flicked upwards and shot her sword out of her hand, rendering her defenceless and mute, marking her loss. Finally, he pressed the tip of his sword against his throat. "You lose, Tsunade."

The blonde admitted defeat with a silent nod. Madara withdrew and slotted his weapon back into its case. "You're a great fighter, I'll give you that. However, you have many weaknesses. While you do have the prowess and upper hand at close hand combat, you cannot compete against the use of ninjutsu. You certainly cannot just rely on your fists all of the time, that's why you should have a sword as a substitute."

Tsunade settled on the grass and wiped off the specks of perspiration building up on her forehead. "What do you propose I do?"

"You're a force to be reckoned with, especially with medical ninjutsu." He sat beside her and placed his sword in between them. "To be in the front lines is a dangerous thing. You'll be our priority, of course, but –– I think –– it would be best if you were able to move independently on the field, without anyone of us hindering your progress. Sure, we can still protect you, but that duty will be very hard to carry out with plenty of enemies around."

"Don't leave me in suspense," she said impatiently, not willing to listen to his own musings.

"What's your affinity?" He asked suddenly, eyes lightening up with a new idea.

"W-W-Why?" She already knew why he was inquiring about this. He wanted to see her perform ninjutsu. While she can easily perform medical ninjutsu, she was not proficient with her affinities. She could never trust herself to mould a dragon out of water, to emit gusts of wind from the palms of her hand, or to erect a mud wall from the ground.

Madara grinned that insane grin of his. "I just got an idea."

"Brother!" Izuna intervened suddenly, "Don't tell me you're going to….!"

"I've already mastered my affinity –– the Fire Style." He concentrated a slither of his chakra on the palm of his hand and set it ablaze. "And I can teach you how to master yours, Tsunade. I'm sure you're conscious of what affinities you have, and which ones you're most proficient with."

She knew she had several affinities in her arsenal, lightning and water being some –– just like her Grandfather. She has good chakra abilities –– a prerequisite to being a medical ninja –– but using these said elements makes her sceptical if she could even reach such a feat. She could easily sustain their mould, but to be able to use them at will –– with such precision –– failed her.

Madara shifted on his spot and reached down for his sword. "We'll continue this again, Tsunade. You should get some rest."

"W-Where are you going, Brother?" Izuna asked, watching him shuffle past him.

"I'm going to patrol."

Tsunade glanced down at her hands in question. She knew she was capable of doing it. But she often held back from zones she wasn't comfortable with. That being said, she's a Senju –– a direct descendent to the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju. She shares his genetics and his fighting prowess. She has yet to utilise her peak's form, too. Back then, at her most pinnacle form, she was hindered by her loved one's death. Before she could ascend further, she fell into the abyss and coils of alcohol and gambling. Her form inevitably dwindled away, and there's only so much she could tap into without structured and rigorous training.

This was her opportunity to reach the heights she failed to reach back on those years.

* * *

When Tobirama walked back into their training grounds in the forest, he didn't expect to see Kakashi drenched in sweat –– and only donned in the shirt that extended as his lower face's mask. From the looks of it, Hashirama had just subjected the Hatake to an extensive physical training. While the Senju stood relatively pristine, the same couldn't be said for the other boy. His hair was matted with one another and his eye was wearier than usual. His breaths were fairly erratic, too.

"Brother, I didn't tell you to nearly kill him!" Tobirama roared out.

Hashirama smiled. "Relax," he dismissed his concern with a small gesture. "He's been progressing since this morning." He pointed at the silver-haired boy who was deep in concentration. "Look."

At the right moment, Kakashi opened his eye and released all of his garnered chakra out into the atmosphere, creating shockwaves throughout the entire forest. As waves of chakra tendrils roared uncontrollably, gradual channels of potent electricity began to pour out from his system. He gritted his teeth and outstretched his dominant arm, lacing all of his power around it, creating a more vibrant Raikiri than the last. Before the signature one-thousand birds could sing, his chakra supply leaked and everything shattered in an instant.

There was sizzle, then a clap of thunder, to which Kakashi was sent flying a few feet away. Before his back could grind against the uneven surface, he was swiftly caught by Tobirama's water release. He smiled thankfully at the boy's caring initiative, as he was laid softly against a tree.

"Brother, what kind of reckless training have you been doing?" Tobirama asked sharply. "Making his lightning release jutsu isn't what you were supposed it be focusing on!"

Hashirama tutted with disappointment. "Don't you see the other factors that come into this training?" he asked. "This isn't just about refining and retuning Kakashi's lightning jutsu. This training is versatile, it's something Kakashi needs. This will increase his chakra control and with such hard regime, he will be able to tap into more of his reserves. As of now, Kakashi can only open less than half of his nods. While that is above average, the weight of the Sharingan nullifies this advantage and puts him – at best – with an average chakra gauge. That being said, Kakashi can still achieve so much."

"Why are you just focusing on his reserves?"

"Haven't you seen it yet?" He paused, glancing at Kakashi. "He's the perfect ninja. He just lacks the chakra to back up his deadliness. Why should I focus on his strengths when he still has a few weaknesses?"

Tobirama didn't bother to satisfy his brother with an answer. Instead, he approached Kakashi and summoned water at his disposal. "Here, you seem dehydrated." His summoned water swirled and fired harshly at the boy, hydrating him –– but not in the way he would have wanted. However, the Senju didn't seem to see the fault in his action and so ignored the look of disdain he was welcomed with.

"I'll see you later, Tobirama," Hashirama said suddenly.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"To patrol."

"I've already patrolled the area, Brother," he deadpanned.

"Well, checking again won't harm anybody."

After the eldest Senju fled, Kakashi saw Tobirama clench his hands into tight fists. "Is there a problem, Tobirama-san?" he weakly voiced out, still in the process of regulating his short breaths.

"Brother sure has been going out a lot," he noted out loud. "And his presence always ends up at the same tributary in the West." His eyes tightened at the thought, this may be his rendezvous. But with whom? His brother was a lot of things, but a traitor was never one of them.

"Kakashi," he turned. "I want you to return to the compound. If Father asks about our whereabouts, tell him that I'm following Brother. Father should know what you're talking about."

"Sure thing, Tobirama-san." He imbedded his sword into the ground and used it to gain stability; the intense training he just underwent made his legs surprisingly numb from the experience.

"And if you dare run away, Kakashi….." Tobirama's unsaid threat morphed in the air, potent with death wishes and promises that he would track his chakra signature and cleave his head off.

Kakashi nodded with uncertainty.

Why do some Senju feel the constant need to threaten the person they have asked a favour from?

* * *

Tajima followed Madara back into the compound with a foul look on his face. He grabbed Madara by his wrist and forced him to turn back around. "You do understand what I want you to do, don't you?" When his son could only look down at the ground, he took him by his shoulders and furiously shook him. "This child –– _Hashirama_ –– is Butsuma's son! He is a Senju; he's responsible for our clan's deaths! –– For your brothers' deaths!"

Madara's eyes widened with fury, but he remained quiet.

"Your brother and I will accompany you in the morning. For the sake of the Uchiha clan, I want you to cut your ties with this kid. You don't know what he's thinking, he may be plotting against our clan right now. In the midst of this mess, Izuna may also lose his life."

His lips pursed.

"I got it," he rigidly spoke, gripping the stone in his hand.

* * *

Later that night, Tsunade slowly approached the shaggy-haired Uchiha, and when her foot accidentally crushed on a twig, he jolted back and quickly hid the stone in his kimono. When he turned around, the relief on his face was evident.

"It's just you," he said lightly. "I thought you were Izuna or Father."

She took a seat beside him and gazed up at the swarthy sky, polluted with a thousand stars. "What are you going to do?" she asked softly.

He pulled the stone out and revealed the engraving on it –– a firm warning. "Hashirama is very fast on his feet, he should be able to get away," he spoke in a hopeful tone. "I need to try and save him, at least. Even if he's a Senju, he's a good person." His eyebrows sewn together, half-anger and half-saddened. "I just wished he wasn't from the Senju clan. It would have been easier to reach our pipe dream."

Tsunade took a daffodil from the ground and twirled it delicately. She would have never imagined that Madara would have displayed such fondness towards her Grandfather. From all the stories she's heard about their deadly rivalry, she expected anything but _this_. Their relationship, from the looks of it, was misconstrued far from reality. From the books she has read, Madara and Hashirama spited each other and only merged together to end the Warring War.

"Fighting him will be inevitable; the battlefield between the Senju and the Uchiha is small. I just need to prolong that day from happening. I don't want to fight him, not in this kind of circumstance." His teeth gritted in frustration. "But he's a Senju…."

She laughed, and he reciprocated with a glare.

"Are you a fool? Do you think an affiliation changes a person?" She began to pluck the petals out, one by one. "Up until now, you had no problem with Hashirama ––" she paused upon saying her Grandfather's name. The act felt wrong on the tip of her tongue; he had always been her Gambler Grandpa, and not just 'Hashirama'. "But now, you do?"

"That's not only it! This is a very complicated situation, Tsunade!" he roared. "My clan depends on this. I cannot choose his life –– his clan's –– over my own. We have our pride, and no one is going to take that away. We will not be bested by the Senju, but that doesn't mean I will let Hashirama die by being blindsided. I will repay my debt by allowing him to live." He grabbed a handful of the silken grass around him. "And if we were to encounter each other in the battlefield again…. then…. I can no longer promise anything."

"I thought you said you didn't care about pride?"

Madara blushed in embarrassment; he didn't think she would shoot back at him with that. "We-Well, this is different. I am willing to discard my pride for my brother's life. Hashirama is not my brother, he's an enemy."

"But….?"

"I still think of him as a friend." He closed his eyes and Hashirama's faint smile appeared in his thoughts. That damned depressed log, to think that he's actually from a prestigious clan. Tsunade's right, his affiliation shouldn't mean a thing. They became friends and they share the same dream of peace, of unity. However, he's from the Senju clan. He may not hold a grudge against the Uchiha, but the same cannot be said for the rest of his clan.

Their fate rested on the weight of the stone in his hand.

* * *

Their encounter as Uchiha and Senju was brief and nothing but a declaration of total war. Madara didn't anticipate for the events to unravel like this. That being said, his brother nearly died because of the Senju, and Hashirama's brother by the Uchiha. They could no longer meet eye-to-eye. The Senju and the Uchiha –– their dream –– could never be unified. They were like oil and water: immiscible.

Madara walked back into the compound and headed straight into his private wall, purposely avoiding his clansmen's judgemental stares. He pushed himself against the wall and sunk down against it. He buried his face into the palms of his hands and groaned out in frustration. This wasn't supposed to happen.

When he glanced up, he no longer saw a reflection of himself, but an enigma slowly taking shape. Twin scarlet eyes bled and pulsed with deep agony, as his tears streamed freely. This was the only way. Their next encounter would most likely be at the battlefield. They were no longer two boys innocently skipping stones. They were soldiers of their clans –– the future Heads.

"Hashirama….."

His hue deepened sharply.

"….Our dream really just can't happen."

A small surge of new power flowed throughout his body like a flowing river. He felt it at the tip of his fingers and the deadliness of his acquired clan's jewels. Blackness reigned and he darkly smirked to himself.

So this was the power of the Uchiha.

* * *

Hashirama hid himself in the forest, cutting any traces of his chakra so Tobirama couldn't track him down. He pursed his lips as his eyes watered. Their pipe dream was hindered by this catastrophe. They were so close to coming to an agreement to make it a realization. But now…. their dream is shattered and its fragments remained spewed in the flowing river.

 _"Damn it!"_ He cried, slamming his hands together. Almost in an instant, a small tree sprouted from the ground before Hashirama's chakra fastened its growth into a titanic tree. The young Senju shrieked and jumped away from the growing tree.

He leaned against another tree with a questionable look. Did he cause that growth? He scrutinized his hands and felt a new sense of power pouring through his limbs. It was far greater than before. Had it been triggered by his despair?

He clenched his fists.

"Madara…."

He slammed his hands together against and erected several more trees around him.

"…I will never forget our dream."

And this power will be his hope for the brighter future.

* * *

 _2 weeks later._

* * *

Kakashi sat obediently on a tree branch, keeping an iota of alertness and care for the prodding ––and damning –– presence of the white-haired Senju from below. He sighed and lazily propped his chin on the back of his hand, sighing for the umpteenth time. It would have been great if his reading material had also travelled back in time with him. He really wanted to read back on Chapter 10 where the heroine and the hero finally reach their goals and realize each other's feelings. The built up tension and that climax –– he could go on forever!

His lax attitude and habit to become out-of-trance was enough to repulse Tobirama to turn around and fold his arms defiantly. Hashirama was sitting quietly beside another tree, amassing chakra with deep concentration. Tobirama sighed and settled on a boulder. This day has been too peaceful for his liking.

"I'm going to train," Kakashi suddenly announced, jumping down from the tree branch with nonchalance. "Or do you still not trust me to go alone?" His glanced at the boy, seeing his perturbed expression grow more frantic, as if he had just caught him in an act.

"Go on ahead," his shoulders slumped forward, "But if you _do_ run away, I will hunt you down myself; don't think Brother will help you, either."

Kakashi picked up his sheathed katana and slotted it by his waist. "Please, don't sugarcoat your words," he drawled with potent sarcasm. After he had neatened up the black collar of his sleeve-less kimono, he looked over his shoulder, "I will not betray you."

"Even for that blonde girl you're desperately trying to find?" He tested the waters dangerously, knowing well that he would illicit a response from the silver-haired man.

The masked man smiled underneath his mask and didn't bother to reply. He didn't feel the need to, anyway. At least… not yet. It was to be expected that Tobirama would still suspect him for treachery, and he didn't blame him for it. It was his duty to remain wary of his intentions, because he was not of the Senju clan. However, his affiliation was already decided for him when he accidentally dragged the Fifth Hokage into this mess.

"You already know the answer,"

"Tobirama!" One member of the Senju announced suddenly.

The boy's interest immediately piqued. "What is it?" he asked sharply, already reaching for his sword.

"Something terrible has happened!"

He clenched his sword. "Tell me!"

"Up the river, our workers were ambushed and ransacked! Everything has been stolen –– our supplies, weapons and food! We tried to stop them, but they were too powerful!" Sweat meandered down from his temple as he saw the growing anger on the young boy's face. "Please ––!"

"Where's father?"

"Wh––"

" _Where's father in all of this?!"_

"He…."

"Tobirama! Hashirama!" Another man called out with parallel desperation.

The eldest Senju snapped out of his bubble and opened his eyes wearily. "What's all this ruckus about?"

"Our men who are guarding the noble man's women and child are under attack by bandits! We can't hold them back any longer. There's just too many of them!"

Tobirama's temper boiled and the vein in his forehead popped. "Goddamn it! For all the times for Father to be out."

"Tobirama, go and save Hajimata-san's family, I'm going to upstream. It would be a shame if we lost our richest investor. We also can no longer replenish our resources and buy new weapons. If we lose all of these supplies, we'll be forced to ration indefinitely." Hashirama spoke calmly, tying his forehead protector on. "Kakashi, please accompany Tobirama."

"Sure thing."

The three scattered like the blitz. Tobirama hopped onto a treetop and garnered his chakra intensely around him as he surveyed the area with high scrutiny. His eyes snapped wide open when he sensed foreign chakra one thousand meters away. He swung his sword on his back and dashed off to the pin-pointed location.

Kakashi lagged behind silently. Behind the flowing tendrils of his silver hair, his sharingan wheel swirled with deep languor, stirring from its sleep.

* * *

"Thank you, Miss!" A young girl blushed. Her pure dark features, acting like jewels that framed her face, lit up appreciatively. She rubbed her healed knee and continued to gawk in awe at the _'magic-trick'_ Tsunade had done.

The blonde ruffled her hair and ushered her back to her circle of friends. With a soft smile, she wiped the few droplets of sweat off her forehead and breathed out with relief.

"People are finally taking a liking to you, Tsunade." Madara approached from behind, lips arching upwards when she turned on her heels to face him. "Normally, they would be frightened of you. It's the first time I've seen a member of my clan come to you willingly."

Tsunade, out of habit, placed her hand on her hip and raised one brow. "Do you also need treatment?" She took his arm and examined its state: mild burns with a fractured forearm. Her hazel eyes directed a sharp glance at him. "What did you do?"

Madara winced slightly when her feather-like touch transformed into an unforgiving hold. "I tried to deflect my enemies' attacks and it resulted to this. It's not a big deal, really."

She sat him down on the grass before she knelt down beside him. Within a few seconds she contained a potent amount of chakra in between her hands, wildly visible and potent with power. She pressed her amassed chakra onto his damaged arm and slowly knitted it back in its pristine state. After a couple of minutes, she drew out a roll of bandages and wrapped it around his forearm to create a protective barrier.

"Don't try doing that again, especially with this arm. It's not fully healed yet."

"Alright," he withdrew his arm and propped it on his lap. "Thank you, Tsunade. Because of you our men have been able to recuperate quicker. It brings me great comfort to know that you're here." He smiled and let his gaze wander adrift to the scenery around them. "At least, I know that if my brother gets too reckless and winds up being hurt, you'll be here to heal him."

"It's a medic's job, after all."

"How are you doing with infusing your affinities to your primary arsenal? Can you make giant water dragons now? Or maybe emit an electrical shield?"

She swatted his excitement away. "Nothing like that. I'm currently working with concentrating Wind or Lightning style to my palms to further strengthen my punch. In addition, I'm trying to summon Wind style moves." She huffed with exasperation. "It's a lot of work. And I can't say that I've been successful over the week's period."

"After my arm has fully healed, I would like to see your progress." He fumbled with his clothing and fastened it close. "We'll spar again some other time."

"Right," she smiled.

After Madara made a swift exit, she felt the throbbing presence of his younger brother in the shadows, intelligently positioning himself at her blind spot. Too bad for him, she could sense his chakra. She directed her gaze at the boy. "Did you also get an injury, Izuna?" she asked, approaching him slowly, in the same manner a hunter would stalk towards a fawn.

The Uchiha pushed himself out of the shadows and stretched his arm out, showing a small laceration on his forearm. "It's your job, right?" he mumbled, looking away to escape her scrutiny and amusement. He never liked asking her for favours, because that would mean he would _owe_ her. And he didn't like being in debt, especially to someone who's not an Uchiha.

Tsunade and delicately took his arm, and examined it. A speck of purple ink was quickly identified. It wasn't a deadly poison –– actually, Tsunade wouldn't even class that as poison. Either way, the worst side effects would be fever and headaches. It's not deadly, but she decided to humour herself.

"The weapon you were struck with was laden with poison, Izuna." She pretended to look concerned. "This is going to be tough; the poison has been here for too long."

Izuna felt a frozen shiver clamp down his spine. "W-W-What's going to happen?"

"The effects right now are subtle. I mean, you won't be able to feel the symptoms until it's too late. We need to stop the spreading of this poison before it consumes you."

"So, it's not yet over? Good. Good. Stop this poison, Tsunade!" He commanded too strictly for her taste.

"Yes, I can stop it….. but it will cost your entire arm."

 _"What?!"_ The boy vociferated.

"Yes. It's either that, or your body and life will have to pay." She reached for the nearby katana and unsheathed it dramatically, to add further tension and realism into her amusement. "I'll stop the bleeding right away. The pain will stop within a few seconds." She angled the sword on his arm.

Izuna clamped his eyes shut and forced himself to look away. "Just do it quickly!"

The sword roared down and slashed through nothingness, making the young Uchiha wince back in fright. At first, he opened one eye to see what had just happened, before he realized that his arm was still intact. He blinked at the Senju. "I-I-I thought…."

She flicked him back and frowned. "That's what you get for being reckless in the battlefield. Had that been a _real_ poison, you would have been dead by now." She gestured at his fully healed arm. "You're welcome."

He puffed his cheeks and glared at the Senju.

"Remember to be more careful next time, Izuna." Her tone was too teasing for the younger boy, so he trudged back into the compound with his pride sorely battered.

She laughed and folded her arms. That should teach him.

Madara, who initially went into the shadows to catch his nap, smirked.

Tsunade craned her neck up and stared up at the bright sky. It's been a couple of weeks since they managed to mess with time. Moreover, it's been two weeks since she's seen her lackadaisical genius Jōnin. She hummed and wondered where he was now. Is he reading his perverted book right now? Or is he in a middle of concocting a masterful plan? He was Kakashi Hatake –– the most unpredictable Jōnin she's ever met. She wouldn't be surprised if he had already managed to pinpoint her location.

Her lips curved upwards softly. She didn't need to worry about him. The right time will bring them to each other. For now, she couldn't afford to arouse suspicion by sneaking out to track down the lone ninja. He was still alive, she knew.

Kakashi always found a way to cheat death.

* * *

 _Faster._

 _Faster!_

Tobirama could feel the muscles in his legs burn as he raced over the forest. Finally, he saw his platoon and their objective. He saw them falter and grow weary against the undying forces of the enemy. There were thirty left in the field. Surely, they could take them on.

" _Wind style: Hurricane Roar!"_ One ninja joined their hands together and released heavy wind currents which blew the closest Senju members away. Tobirama struggled against the current by augmenting his leg strength with chakra. His eyes widened when he saw the rest of the members extending a strike towards the mother and child of a noble class –– the ones who hired them.

 _Shit._

If the blow strikes –– and they die –– the Senju clan will face _severe_ consequences. These noblemen have enough power to deconstruct their clan at will. Their profound wealth means that they have more clans under their wing, ones which will lead to the Senju's annihilation if this mission fails.

"Water style––!"

Kakashi was quicker. He slammed his palm on the ground, "Earth style: Mud Wall!" A large wall erected just in time to deflect the incoming blades and projectiles, bidding enough time for Kakashi to scoop the mother and child into his arms, and carry them to safety. The young woman blushed whilst the child stared at him with an awestruck expression.

Tobirama smirked and continued to weave his seals. "Water style––" He was yet again interrupted by another wave of wing styles. He grunted and stabbed his sword into place so he could regain balance.

As the wind current died down, a series of attacks were launched upon the Senju. He curtly deflected each and every one of them with his sword, and with the proficient use of taijutsu he was able to fight off the enemies in front of him. However, several other ninjas managed to get past his and his other team's line of defence, despite their efforts to keep them away from their target.

 _"Kakashi!"_ Tobirama bellowed out, slashing through one of the enemies.

Kakashi twisted and spat out a large fireball at the incoming ninja. He whipped out his sword and welcomed those who evaded his jutsu with a fatal strike to the heart. As his sword lodged into the last enemy, another handful appeared from the shadows of the trees. Kakashi gritted his teeth and left his sword imbedded in the enemy, and quickly coated his hand with potent, sizzling electricity.

"Begone!" Kakashi roared, dashing towards the incoming threat. "Lighting style: Lightning Beast Tracking Fang!" A hound formed from his palm and lunged forward to the enemies before they could even blink.

"Run!" Kakashi firmly ordered the two, pulling the hound back round to attack the remaining enemies. "Run and don't look back."

 _"Water style: Instant Bullets!"_

"Wind style––"

Kakashi took deep breaths and closed his eyes shut. There were too many enemies for only the five of them. They were greatly outnumbered, evacuating now will be the only way to survive this. He looked at the mother and child who remained numbed on the spot, and contemplated his options.

 _"Kakashi!"_

He was immediately pulled out of his inner muse and saw an eclipsing lightning attack headed his way. His hand jolted immediately with his own electricity. As he was going to face it head on, the lightning vanished in thin air. As it disappeared, the clashes of metal and exchange of wind and water style also ceased.

Kakashi looked up ahead and saw the enemy ninjas shaking in fright in their spot. They trembled but their legs couldn't move. He looked up and saw a dark-cladded ninja jump down into the scene with nonchalance coating their presence. The femininity of their posture only confirmed one thing for Kakashi –– this person was a woman.

"Bandits…." She retorted with disgust. "I wouldn't have thought there would be a sheer amount lurking in the shadows."

They continued to tremble, not moving. However, Kakashi soon realized that it wasn't fright that froze them into place, but her jutsu. What kind of jutsu was that? A cold sweat ran down on Kakashi's temple. This woman's presence was unimaginable.

"Tobirama, I thought better of you."

Even the white-haired Senju bowed his head in response. "I'm sorry, Toka."

 _Toka?_ Kakashi murmured in his head.

"Now then," she raised two fingers up and tightened her glare towards the bandits. "Let me welcome you to another world." Her dark eyes brimmed into a lighter hue as the leaves, that previously cascaded down on the floor, shone white.

Kakashi stepped back and scrutinised the jutsu. It was unlike he's ever seen before. Even with his sharingan he couldn't analyse the magnitude of it. What was this? It far exceeds even the likes of Kurenai's genjutsu!

Within a second, the enemies were encapsulated by her jutsu, and all of their eyes rolled back as their bodies went limp. Their conscientiousness stolen from them, and replaced with an unfathomable dream that would reign on for hours on end.

Tobirama looked down at the ground and saw the black coloured leaves at his feet. "Since when did you…?" he wanted to ask. These leaves weren't from the trees, they were part of her jutsu. In order to enwrap multiple people in her jutsu at once, she would often spray these leaves that would then act as a solid seal which will stop their chakra and movement.

"You're too young to get rusty, Tobi…" she softly said, picking up one of her blackened leaves.

As the wind caught and splayed her hair along with the zephyr, she turned her head to the side and caught a glimpse of Kakashi. Their gazes locked, and the silence between them grew palpable enough for even the white-haired boy to notice.

"Who's that?" Toka asked.

"Kakashi Hatake…" He saw her face contort in confusion. "I'll fill you in the details later."

"Oi!" One Senju forced Kakashi to bow his head down. "Show some respect, that's Toka-chan! And she just saved us from this predicament!"

"W-Who is she?" Kakashi questioned quietly.

"Don't you know? She's the best genjutsu user of the Senju clan; she can even rival the Uchiha's genjutsu!"

He looked back up at her, capturing the gaze she held as she observed the flow of clouds in the sky. The sharpness of her features were drawn out by the sunkiss touch of the sun, sharpening the colour of her hair and eyes, whilst softening the colour of her porcelain skin.

"She's the strongest female Senju!" They continued.

Their eyes caught each other in another tangle.

Kakashi couldn't help but smile with intrigue.

He wondered what his Godaime would say about that.

* * *

 **xox**


	5. Chapter 5

_Long time no update, my fellow readers! I'm really sorry for the long wait. A lot of things have happened, and are still currently happening. And I can't say for sure when the next update will be. :/ So we decided to whip up a short chapter for you guys. Mind you, it's not as the other chapters - and it may not be as good. But this is the best version we could make in a short period of time._

 _Also, I should talk about everyone's ages, shouldn't I._

 _Kakashi, Izuna and Tobirama - 13 years_

 _Tsunade - 14 years._

 _Madara and Hashirama - 15 years_

 _Toka - 16 years_

 _Thanks for everything again! :) Hope you guys enjoy!_

* * *

 **Skin Deep**

* * *

"So your father is the one behind this ludicrous plan, huh?" Toka said simply to Tobirama, as she shifted her dirtied clothes and readjusted her fairly slim rapier by her side. All the while eyeing the conspicuous Uchiha-inbred. Just seeing that blood-crystal hued eye was enough to provoke her inner demons. Just how many people have been mentally screwed over with those eyes? Her hand subconsciously wrapped tightly around her sword.

To think the Senju would fall _this_ low to allow this boy into their clan. Granted he wasn't a pureblood, he still possessed that loathsome jewel of the Uchiha. He had their clan's brand of epitome and hatred. And just coming in contact with it alone was mind-numbing.

Tobirama crossed his arms and wore the same scowl of his father. "I didn't like the idea of it, either," he confessed bitterly, and paused for a moment, "but Kakashi is not like them. He's not like an Uchiha."

Toka had to remind herself to breathe upon hearing the Senju speak. She grew up with Tobirama, and she knows for a fact that he would never welcome a stranger into their family. He possessed the same wary nature to that of a guard dog. To hear him say such a thing without even batting as much of an eyelash confused her.

She directed her gaze up to the webbing of the trees' branches up above. "If you trust that boy… then I shall, too. But I won't give him as much of the benefit of the doubt as _you_ have given him."

Tobirama pulled a face, already prepared to retaliate.

"I know you," was all she said before she walked off, ready to lead their members back into their compound.

Kakashi eased the mother up on her feet, and had the boy hitch a piggyback from him.

* * *

Once they arrived back home, they went through the formalities with the Head of the noble family, dispatched a new escort for them, and settled camp for their rescued supplies. Kakashi carried the blocks of steel, that would soon be heated and moulded into weapons of destruction, to their storage house.

He sighed and wiped his sweat away. He really should have used his chakra sparingly in that battle, since possessing the sharingan involved intense physical strain. However, it was his innate nature which spurred him to give a limb to protect the mother and child. He would have drained all of his chakra, if necessary, to protect them.

Some would say that this was because of his ingrained chivalrous nature, but Kakashi would say otherwise. It's his trauma of losing someone under his protection, that drives him to go to such a length.

The sun radiated baked golden hues over the landscape, stretching out peacefully and enshrouding around the most intricate curves of nature, whilst the dark inked shadows loomed behind like the Nara's signature jutsu. Kakashi looked down at his dominant hand with a softened look. He didn't know if the birth of his Raikiri was his greatest achievement or his biggest kryptonite.

He then looked at his silhouette.

He really is a ––

"I don't think we have met in a formal basis," Toka smoothly interrupted.

Kakashi hastily turned around and he dipped his head slightly. "I'm Kakashi Hatake."

"I'm aware."

"That's an unusual name," he said as a witty remark, hoping it would become their ice-breaker.

It wasn't.

He received a numbing silence.

The silver-haired boy sheepishly scratched the back of his head as he chuckled nervously. Were Senju women always so hard to please with humour? Because she hasn't cracked a smile or a laugh since she got back.

Toka's tightened eyes eased. "Do you always hide behind this façade of yours?"

His laughter stopped, and he stared.

"Just a while ago, you looked like you were deep in your thoughts. And I couldn't help but notice that your chakra signature was extremely rigid, implying distress or irritation." Her analysis was as sharp as his sharingan. "I just found your transition amusing, that's all."

"I'm sorry… I was just…." _Reliving memories. As usual._

"You don't have to justify yourself," she quickly said, easing up even more. "Tobirama trusts you, Kakashi –– and Hashirama has always been a given. But for Tobirama to even defend an outsider like you –– it was unfathomable until now." Toka came closer, but hesitated when the gleam of Kakashi's kekkai genkai came to life. She paused and steadied herself. "But you do know that this _isn't_ your war, right?"

The silver-haired boy wiped the dirt off his hands and spoke, "It doesn't matter whose war this is. I have been dragged into it long enough; I have killed too many people to say such a thing. This may not have been my war before, but it is now…."

Toka finally smiled. "You're interesting, Kakashi."

He flinched at her radiance.

"I look forward fighting alongside you."

The astute girl stepped into his comfort zone and stretched out her hand. Kakashi reluctantly sealed their handshake with a mute expression.

"Don't make me regret welcoming you into the family, Kakashi," warned Toka, adjusting her grip around his hand to squeeze it as tightly as she could.

Kakashi tried to remain composed, but her grip was almost bone-crushing. A sweat ran down his temple and his teeth gritted together to keep his yelp from coming out.

Luckily enough, a third person popped up into the scene.

"Toka!"

Judging by the sudden palpable zest, Hashirama had finally come home.

She slipped her hand from Kakashi and turned on her heels. "Hashirama!" she waved enthusiastically.

The First ran up to her and grinned boyishly. "You're finally back, huh?"

"Since this afternoon. I had to help out little Tobi with those pesky vultures."

The bright aura sudden turned icy.

"Who are you calling _'little'_?" Tobirama snapped and folded his arms defiantly. "I've grown considerably since you left."

Hashirama cocked his head to the side whilst Toka laughed mightily.

The white-haired Senju's vein popped on his forehead.

Kakashi remained in the background, not quite sure whether he should just spectate or become their mediator.

Tobirama stomped over to Kakashi. "I'm going to train!" he claimed powerfully. "Come with me, Kakashi."

"E-Ey?" he shrieked. "I'm very tired, Tobirama-san."

Mismatched met maroon eyes.

Kakashi sighed in defeat, rolling his shoulders back. "Fine," he groaned.

* * *

Butsuma sat among his clansmen that night, celebrating the fact that they have successfully replenished their resources. He drank heavily that night as men and women frolicked about, singing and dancing –– and forgetting about their war against the Uchiha. His drowsy eyes trailed over the civilian women getting intimate with their lovers. Some had already retreated back into their huts to gain privacy.

He smirked. It wasn't hard to put two and two together, even for a drunk man like himself. His men deserved to lavish themselves with booze and women tonight. They have fought to the bone for him, and the least he could do for them is to allow them to feel a soft woman's warmth for the night.

They were good men, he concluded. The most loyal.

The trio sat together in a triangle, playing with cards, completely oblivious of the sexual nature of the event. Well, expect for Kakashi. While he has attained his teenage form, his mind still worked like an adult's. He knew what was exactly going on. And that this is all a ploy to ease the men into the hardship ahead.

Hell was waiting for them after this night.

"Kakashi!" Hashirama snapped his fingers in front of him. "It's your turn."

He blinked and looked back at the set of his cards before he caught Tobirama's glare. "Don't tell me you were thinking about what the adults are doing."

Tobirama knew, after all.

"No-no…" he tried to protest.

Hashirama encircled his arm around him, and wore a mischievous grin. "Are you interested?"

Maybe these kids were not as innocent as he thought.

"Father always hold events like these –– men get drunk and end up in the huts of women's. It's apparently to relax the men from the traumatising events. Sometimes our clan ends up with Comfort Women, which is a euphemism for sex slaves. Every clan does it every now and then." Tobirama wrinkled his nose. "I couldn't care less about it."

Hashirama planted his hands behind him and leaned back, staring up at the night sky. "Father never gets involved, since he doesn't like the whole affair. But many men in the clan are…. _deprived_ , and my father thinks this is one of the ways to encourage them to keep fighting for him."

"You are too young to be discussing such a topic, you two." Toka walked towards them with a parcel in her hand. She squeezed into their triangle and reformed it as a square. "Some men in this clan are such pigs," was all she said. "They have wives and children to care for, but they always go for another woman."

"You're not much older than me, Toka." Hashirama answered back.

Kakashi placed down his cards and nodded at the wrapped object. "What's inside that?"

Toka hushed him down. "Don't tell anyone, okay?" She unwrapped it and showed a bottle of sake and four curved cups. "I snuck this out of one of the huts." She eagerly poured the alcohol into the cups and offered it to each of them.

Tobirama raised a brow at it. "It looks like water."

"And you keep thinking that." She winked.

Hashirama held his nose and took a sip. Almost immediately, his complexion paled and he began rubbing the taste off his tongue.

Tobirama shook the liquid around before he drank in the similar fashion Toka did. His stoic expression cracked and his skin turned bright pink. He coughed several times at the potency of the liquid, all the while mentally cursing at Toka.

Kakashi was last –– and the most composed of all. He drank it like it was water, and just sat there. Completely unaffected.

" _What the hell?!"_ The three Senju vociferated.

"Are you god?!" Hashirama asked, grabbing him by his shoulders.

"Are you an alcoholic?!" Toka accused sharply, causing further uproar.

Tobirama watched as the two shook him around, asking and accusing all at the same time. He snorted and looked at the bottle of sake. He bet he could do it too….. if he diluted it with his water release.

Butsuma stood up and raised his cup to his clansmen, drunkenly grinning.

"Drink on, my men. Have the time of your lives. Because tomorrow morning is going to be a treacherous road. Live like you've never lived before, and copulate until your desire has been quenched." He drank his sake and held the bottle with one hand. "Senju women, our men need your care tonight."

Everyone cheered and the music of instruments continued, as the flames of the fire-pit intensified. Butsuma watched the embers fly into the sky with bitterness. Seeing the tongues of flame only brought back ugly memories.

"Lord Butsuma," one of the women approached him. "Do you want to have some company for the night?"

He scanned her figure from head to toe, concluding at she was well-endowed. But he shook his head with a sloppy smile. "I'm better alone." With that, he swayed side to side to his own hut.

Tobirama worriedly followed his father's movements.

His father was always alone….

* * *

 _3 months later._

* * *

As sluggish as the humid night was for Tsunade, her movements were brisk and efficient as she manoeuvred in between healing and training. The Uchiha had been more militant these past few days, but surprisingly enough, this violent onslaught wasn't directed at the Senju clan. As a matter of fact, the conflict between the two rivals were kept to a bare minimum. As it would seem, the Senju clan had decided to reside elsewhere near the mountains, near the Nara family's region.

If Tsunade had to hazard a guess, their sudden relocation was attributed by their scarce source of medical herbs, and horns from deer. There was an abundance of herbs near the mountains, and whilst it practically flaunted at locals and travels alike, no one can quite utilise their medical properties quite like an astute Senju. One delicate mistake in extraction can spoil the entire herb, and its extract will do more harm than good.

Since the Senju disappeared, the Uchiha had branched themselves out within the wooded area and made sure they piled up on supplies that would provide them comfort during the long haul of winter. This little expedition, however, was costly as they had to rob areas of the land from other minorities within the area. Every time the Uchiha would organise a voyage, a good number of a dozen men would come back with injuries.

Tsunade pulled herself out of her musings and continued to grind the herb in a mortar. After grinding up enough herbs, she gathered it all in a lattice basket and knelt down next to an injured Uchiha. With a delicate touch, she rubbed the herbs against the man's grotesque wound in the abdomen. She watched him wince in pain and grunt with dismay at the friction the plant did against his torn skin.

"I'm trying to disinfect your wound," she soothingly spoke, turning the wet flannel around on his forehead. Just as she had expected, he was coming down with a fever. A green translucent light began to radiate around her palm, and she begin to meticulously knit his flesh and bones together. The wound was deeper than she would have liked, and therefore drained more chakra than she expected. Tsunade pressed deeper against his body and burned a brighter green hue –– verging on emerald –– on her palm, whilst simultaneously providing him with her own chakra with her other hand.

The man's ragged breaths began to stabilize and his fever started to calm. Everything reached an equilibrium again, and the man drowned into an unconscious state –– alive and on his way to recovery. Tsunade went back to her work station to heat a needle on a burning candle. She then laced a fine thread through it so she could manually knit the partially open wound closed. As she sealed the man's gash, she felt a small prickle of someone's chakra presence looming behind her. Guessing was futile; she already knew who it was.

"Madara," she lightly acknowledged, still finishing up her work.

The Uchiha smirked, half-impressed that despite being preoccupied with mind-numbing work, she still kept an iota of awareness under her sleeve to detect his presence. Had he had the energy to do so he would have mockingly applauded her efforts, but since he was far too drained to even bother, he remained quiet. He, instead, propped himself lazily on a wooden chair and watched her finish her masterpiece. His tired eyes tracked her meticulous motion at closing the opening, drinking with appreciation at how they contrasted as ninjas.

It only takes little to no effort for him to imbed a deep laceration into an enemy, but it takes immense skills for her to heal all the muscles, tissues, severed nerves and bones together. She repairs what he destroys. Despite this clear juxtaposition, there was a small line of similarity that intrigued him.

Both the healer and the killer rely on a blade: Tsunade with her scalpel, Madara with his dagger.

He softly smiled at his inner thoughts.

"You could use a break, Tsunade," he quietly spoke, respecting that the hut was filled with injured soldiers who needed their rest to fully recover. "You're beginning to burn up because your chakra is now on a thread –– a very _tiny_ thread."

Tsunade wiped the beads of sweat on her forehead, and proceeded to clean the man's perspiring body with a wet sponge and a dry cloth. "I'm fine," she said stiffly and discarded the two items into the bucket. She then gave a huff when she brushed past him. "Stop looking at me with those pesky eyes of yours."

"Your chakra network is weak." His young sharingan narrowed at his analysation.

"But it's enough. At least during a quiet night like this." She took the lantern with her and stepped out of the hut. Not long after, Madara was already behind her –– two steps behind. "Do you want something from me?" Tsunade sharply inquired, turning around with her usual haughty attitude.

Madara swiftly took the lantern from her and continued to saunter through their temporary camp. As he pushed through the sludge of the muddy terrain, he could feel Tsunade's displeased aura gnawing into his conscience until he could no longer brush it off. He looked over his shoulder, "I'm on guard duty; it's my job to see to your safety."

Although he sounded chivalrous, Tsunade didn't appreciate it, and gladly projected her dismay with a snort. She was obviously not quite taken by his mocking façade.

When Tsunade took a sharp turn, Madara took a hasty side step and proceeded to stalk her out of their campus. With an exasperated sigh, she turned and raised a brow at him. "Are you going to follow me all the way to the river?"

He straightened. "Of course."

"…And watch me bathe?" She challenged, keeping her brow raised to express her wary nature.

Madara fell into a series of stammers. The words failed to become coherent in his mind, and he couldn't grasp it either. He became an unsightly mess.

Tsunade shook her head. "…Pervert," she retorted.

"I-It's not safe for you to bathe at night, you know…" He finally said before he cleared his throat. "I-I mean… you're still a girl….."

"I'm not sleeping in a myriad of blood staining my skin. I don't think you know this, but that's very unhygienic." Not to mention, she still cannot withstand blood. While it wasn't a phobia anymore, the sight of it still repulsed her.

"At least take this…" He unclasped his long cloak and handed it to her. "You'll be freezing after. This can be your towel."

"Thank you…" She folded it over her forearm and smiled warmly.

"I've got to return to my rounds." He gestured back to the fairly lit camp.

"Goodnight, Madara," Tsunade dipped her head slightly.

He nodded and turned back around, continuing his patrol around the camp.

* * *

The frosted ground crunched against the heavy sandals of two very competitive siblings. Despite the dip in temperature, and the icy atmosphere, both Izuna and Madara were donned in their fishnet shirts. Their breathing was disturbed, and their fighting stance had been deteriorated by fatigue. Izuna let out a faint smile of satisfaction; his brother was actually being pressured against a wall.

Again!

 _Crunch._

 _Crunch._

 _Snap!_

Izuna leapt into the air and produced a violent ball of flames. Madara swiftly evaded the jutsu, but then fell into his brother's trap: Izuna intercepted where he would dash off to evade his fireball. The eldest gasped at his sibling's fast execution of slashing his wooden katana directly into his abdomen. However, Madara deflected his attack with his weapon and charged gears.

He wasn't kind enough to let his brother take a single breath to relax. He parried his sword away and lunged forward, ready to take the win. Izuna's eyes flickered and smoothly side-stepped from his attack before he slashed his brother's wooden weapon up into the air.

Madara's mouth gaped, but didn't have much time to stare into space as Izuna came in –– full throttle. In desperation, Madara switched his sharingan on and intercepted Izuna's attack, with his bare hands. He grinned at his advantage, and elbowed his brother in the face and threw his sword into the iced bushes.

"That was a dirty move, brother," Izuna murmured.

"There's no such thing as a dirty move in battle, Izuna."

The two crashed through the frost and greeted each other with their fists. They exchanged blows: Izuna uppercut Madara before he was sent aback when Madara's knuckles connected to his cheek. He wiped his nose and ignored the specks of blood staining his hand. Before he could draw his attention back to their spar, the air in his lungs were already forcibly pushed out when Madara embedded his fist into his stomach.

Izuna's eyes stung with pain, and he clutched his stomach.

Madara took his vulnerability and kicked him down onto the cold surface. He hailed from above with his sharingan gleaming dangerously.

"You lose, Izuna."

The younger Uchiha struggled to stagger back up on his feet, but was later supported by his elder brother. "…That's because you have the sharingan, brother. If I had the same visual prowess as you I bet, I would have won."

Madara softly smirked. "We'll see…."

Izuna let his weight lean against his brother's frame. "Tsunade will not be happy if she found out about this…." The last spar they had resulted in the both of them being out of action from the battlefield. While their injuries were minor (this time), they knew the medic wouldn't be impressed.

"No… she won't. But she's not awake yet."

Izuna smirked. "I think I should wake her up, then."

"Why do you like riling her up so much?"

"Because her reaction isn't as bland as our other clansmen." He left it at that and sauntered towards Tsunade's hut.

He entered her small premise and looked about. Her space smelt like elixir and grounded herbs. When he came closer, the scent grew softer and was overwhelmed by her natural scent. The scent was feminine, of floral oils smeared on skin, inundated the wintery wind. She smelled of vanilla and honey. Finespun intoxication. Spins of golden hair splayed on her pillow while she slept.

Izuna cocked his head slightly. This was the first time he's ever seen her at peace.

Her pink-hued lips parted, and she breathed lightly.

The Uchiha knelt down and pulled her covers up, tucking her in. The fact that she hasn't woken up was a testimony to how much the fangs of fatigue has sunk inside her.

"Izuna––!" Madara stopped. He placed one hand on his hip. "She's still asleep, huh."

"Let's not wake her up…." Izuna exited the hut with his brother.

* * *

After Marada cleaned himself up from the dirt and blood, he slipped into a fresh set of clothes and re-taped the bandages around his ankles. As usual, he tucked in his right hand into the parting of his kimono shirt, and casually meandered around their camp. He walked into his father's room and bowed respectfully.

Tajima swatted his obeisance away and, instead, silently asked him to sit. His son complied. "Madara…" he began in a stern tone. "How is Tsunade's progress coming on? I heard that you've been teaching her ninjutsu and kenjutsu. Has there been much success?"

"Tsunade is starting to become more fluent with her sword. Her ninjutsu, on the other hand, has been a tedious process. She can easily mould, but she cannot seem to control it. That being said, she has been improving impeccably."

"Ah… I see."

"What is this about, father?"

"We will need her in the frontlines soon. We both know how dangerous it is to be there, especially for a ninja who doesn't wield a variety of skills up their sleeves. Other clansmen are ferocious creatures, and they can easily tear down our inexperienced soldiers –– that includes Tsunade, of course."

Madara nodded quietly. "I shall do my best to train her. Don't worry, Tsunade will be ready before the Senju comes back." He cleared his throat. "Father, other women have been requesting to take a more militant role in our clan. After seeing what Tsunade has accomplished, they can't help but take inspiration from her."

Tajima clenched his jaw tightly. His muscles then turned lax, and he breathed. "This may sound discriminatory, but women are not allowed in the battlefield. Tsunade is the only exception because of her healing prowess."

"But if we train the women…!"

"Discrimination is vital in keeping our clan safe!" Tajima fought back. "You know what it's like to be out there. We're not fighting people –– we're fighting demons! Sending out our women is a deathwish. They are more susceptible to sexual torture; they can be raped and be used to make half-blooded Uchiha!" He rose from his sitting position. "Like I said, men are nothing by carnal creatures in the battlefield."

The heir bowed his head. "I'm sorry… I didn't weigh in the consequences."

"Tsunade will need to be properly trained before she's allowed in the frontlines. If anything were to happen to her…. we will have lost one of our most valuable assets." He folded his arms and approached his son. "She may be young now, but in the future, she'll become a beautiful woman. And that's very dangerous in the frontlines. She'll become a target. Since she isn't an Uchiha –– or anyone special –– they will just mentally ruin her, and violate her until her sanity has disappeared."

Madara clenched his hands into a ball. "That won't happen…"

"Can you promise that, son?"

"I shall do my best. After all, I am one of the strongest Uchiha."

"Good. I will be leaving this afternoon to regulate our second camp in the East." Tajima turned his back to his son. "I will entrust the people to you."

"Yes, sir!"

"Take your leave, my son."

It was all muscle memory to get back up, bow and take your hasty leave.

His short stroll halted when he saw Tsunade interacting with the young children. She smiled when they insisted for her to show her medical ninjutsu. She happily complied and amassed a heavy amount of chakra in between of her palms.

"That's so cool!" One boy gasped. "C-Can I put my hand through it?"

"Of course!" she smiled.

The children took this as their cue to put their hands into the bubble of her chakra, completely captivated by it. The hue continued to become stronger until another chakra disrupted its flow, making it burst completely.

Tsunade snapped while the children moaned and groaned.

" _Madara-nii!"_

She looked up at the dishevelled Uchiha. "You just had to ruin it."

Madara only grinned.

"Why do you always butt in?!" The children continued to moan.

The Uchiha gestured for Tsunade to follow him. The Senju curtly followed.

"What you did was cruel," she spoke.

"I got excited; I saw how good your chakra control was. I think it's about time we picked up where we left off with your training." He slotted his arm back into his kimono. "Show me your jutsu, Tsunade."

"W-Why?"

"I need to see how good you've become before we allow you to go to the frontlines."

"It's essential for me to be in the frontlines."

"But you'll be defenceless…"

"No I––"

"What if your taijutsu doesn't save you?!" His voice raised a little. "Tsunade…. you're a valuable medic in our clan. If anything were to happen to you…. it would be a great loss. We _need_ you. Your expertise has saved many of our lives. You have influenced so many people, you don't even know it."

Tsunade stiffened. Did he not realize that he was glaring at her with his sharingan?

She slowly weaved the standard seal of a water jutsu. _"Water style: Water dragon bullet!"_ Her muscles tensed and she unleashed her monstrous chakra. Her eyes tightened and her golden chakra outlined her form. A water dragon spiralled at her side and glared ominously at Madara.

The Uchiha grinned. "Amazing…."

Tsunade fell deep into concentration to keep her jutsu right beside her.

"Now, hit that tree on your right."

In a single motion, Tsunade accidentally projected the dragon to plummet down to the Uchiha.

He was not fazed, however.

" _Fire style: Great Fireball!"_

The blazing ball of fire clashed with the violent torrent of water, dispelling nothing but mist. Tsunade protected her eyes with her forearm and waited for the aftermath to calm down. When the mist dispersed, she saw Madara approach her.

"You can do it, after all."

She straightened her form. "I just can't control it…."

"In due time, you will." Madara placed his hand on her shoulder. "I'm your teacher, after all."

"It will have to wait..." she replied. "I need to gather more herbs."

"It's winter time, Tsunade. Where will you get those herbs?"

"There's a cave upstream. It meets the criteria for those herbs to grow there."

Madara ruffled his hair, mid-thought. He then led the way. "Let's go, then."

Tsunade wore a scowl. He was like a dog without a bone.

* * *

"What are drag…." Kakashi huffed, carrying a pile of logs on his back. He didn't mind the training prospect of this, but he did mind the tedious walk up the hill. Moreover, his companion wasn't that great, either.

"Quit being so slow, Kakashi!" Toka scolded from afar.

His eyes grew wearier. She didn't _really_ count as a companion. She was more of an uptight fitness instructor. If he walked faster, this could all be over and done with. He sighed and grumbled his annoyance under his breath. His steps grew wider, and his pace doubled.

It wasn't long until he surpassed Toka.

Throughout their journey of increasing stamina Kakashi contemplated whether he should open his First Gate or not. He decided otherwise, because that wouldn't be fair (on Toka's part). His pace turned sluggish again –– but this time, it was just enough for Toka to match his speed.

"You think you're funny…" she glared. "Playing around before getting serious."

He scratched the back of his head. "I wasn't playing."

"You were! You always do."

He met her with silence as he looked ahead. She didn't know what she was talking about. He hasn't been serious for a very long time. The last time he fell into his darker tendencies was when they ambushed the Uchiha.

That was three months ago.

"Just who are you?" Toka asked, looking at him. "Because I can never pinpoint your true personality. You're lax one moment, then you're filled with killing intent the next."

Instead of taking her question seriously, he looked to the side and meekly smiled. "The mystery is more alluring; don't you think?"

"Kakashi…."

"Maybe I'll tell you…. _someday_."

She smirked. "I'll hold you to that."

He internally shook his head. He was never good at keeping promises.

" _Promise me you'll protect Rin..."_

He pierced her with the same jutsu Obito helped him perfect.

" _You'll be my right-hand…"_

He promised to protect his sensei. But where did he end up? He's now six feet under the ground.

" _Tell me you'll get help, Kakashi…"_

He didn't. He allowed for his PTSD to drive his life. He let himself become a monster.

" _Take good care of my students, you hear."_

A year and a half later: one went rogue, and the two looked for other mentors.

He's harboured so many regrets already. He wondered, how will he break this promise now? Of course he wouldn't do it intentionally. But he already knew that this promise was insincere.

"There you go again," she murmured. "Your chakra is agitated again."

Kakashi escaped from his bubble. "I-I'm sorry."

"You always are," she remarked, taking bigger steps to overtake him.

When her back was in full view for Kakashi, she looked over her shoulder. "Hurry up. Work that weak stamina of yours."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed again.

Little by little, he really was losing his dignity with these Senju.

* * *

" _Weakling!"_

Hashirama crashed into the adjacent wall before the force pushed him off it. He shook his head and tried to regain his composure. His father was too strong, he reminded himself. Hashirama gripped his broken arm and winced. At this rate, he cannot retaliate with his Wood Style.

Butsuma spat on the ground. "Clean yourself up."

At the exact moment Butsuma left, Tobirama jumped down from the rooftop and promptly healed his brother. After he finished rolling up the bandages, he made a makeshift sling for his brother with his shirt.

"Sorry for this, Tobirama. I didn't expect father to use his full strength." He gritted his teeth when his brother gently slotted his arm through the sling. "I was too careless…" he laughed. "Father made my jutsu look like paper. He really broke through my moves."

"Father is the most powerful Senju to have emerged," Tobirama calmly said. "The fact that your Wood Style didn't work doesn't surprise me."

"I wonder if I'll ever surpass father…" Hashirama carelessly mused.

Tobirama's face darkened at the thought. "I will," he dangerously spoke. "I know I will."

The eldest blinked a couple of times when he came to contact with Tobirama's eyes burning with fire. "Y-Y-You sound so confident about that."

"I've been developing a couple of jutsu. It's still far from perfect, but I'm sure I'll be able to beat father with it."

"Tobirama!" A deep voice called. It was their father.

The white-haired boy turned to face the Head. "Yes, father."

"Your test against me will take place in next full moon."

He perked up. This was his chance to show his fighting prowess.

"You and Kakashi shall fight me on that day. Be sure to remind that boy."

Tobirama's hopes came crashing down. "W-Why do I have to team up with Kakashi?"

Butsuma looked at him derisively. "Because you wouldn't stand a chance against me, Tobirama. Your strength is not even half of your brother's –– and he ended up crashing into the wall."

"I'm nothing like Hashirama!"

"Oh? Are you claiming that you're stronger?"

Tobirama staggered back. "N-Nothing like that…. I am wiser with my attacks. I don't mindlessly go on the offensive without a strategy."

"You may be wiser, but your movements cannot keep up with your mind because you're still too weak."

In a flash, Butsuma already hand his fist pressed against Tobirama's abdomen. "Had I been serious, I would have punched you to the other side, Tobirama. And this isn't even my greatest speed."

The Second gasped, completely imprisoned with both awe and fear.

"You're still lacking." The brown-haired man took a step back. "You're arrogant above all else, son. You think you're a lone wolf, and you reject people's help. It's about time you learn to communicate with others."

Darkness fell onto the child's face.

"You are weak."

Hashirama stammered on his feet. _"That's enough, Father!"_

Butsuma retaliated with a sterner scorn. "Stay out of this, Hashirama."

Tobirama fell onto his knees, shaken by reality.

* * *

Madara followed Tsunade into the cave with obvious apprehension. The atmosphere was humid and the rocks which meshed into this cave was damp from the streams of water ambling down. He rubbed his fingers together and smelt the liquid, making sure that it was water.

"It's pretty dark in here."

"I'd be surprised if it wasn't."

Tsunade lit up the lantern that was by the entrance, and confidently led the way. She shone its scarce light onto the pit within the cave, and gestured to Madara to look down.

The Uchiha, who had his arms folded behind his head, walked towards the edge of the cavern and whistled at the depth of it. "Are you sure the herbs are growing down there?"

She continued to edge closer. "I'm not sure…." Their source of light was already close to running out of wick. The faint glow of her lantern only hindered their vision, whilst their hearing was dramatically enhanced. They could hear even the faintest movement of the bats above, and the trickle of water which filled this entire cave. It was needless to say that their vision was impaired in this circumstance.

Madara stoicly summoned his fire technique on the palm of his hand, shredding more light than Tsunade's dying lantern. All of a sudden, the tunnel up ahead and the cavern at their feet was bathing in an orange glow.

"How about now?" he asked again.

The moment they both neared to the very edge, the damp surface gave in and they both stumbled to the very end of the pit. Madara tried to halt by digging his foot into the soil. "Damn it!" He flopped at the end, and crashed into one of the herbs. Luckily for him, he rested on his back.

He saw Tsunade in his sight, already crashing down. She was going to land on him.

Tsunade had already seen this coming. She, instead, used Madara as a platform and jumped straight from him and landed on her feet. She swatted her dirtied clothes and huffed. If he thought this was going to end up like in the movies –– where a flustered girl ends up on top of a boy –– he could think again.

"How many are you going to get?" Madara casually asked, overlooking the past event that could have happened.

"As many as possible. It's better to stock up." Tsunade opened up her pouch and began to delicately pluck the vegetation out from the ground.

Madara gave a helping hand, and started to store some of the herbs into his own inventory. "What are you going to use these for?"

She examined one tattered plant and decided to discard it before she registered to his question. "Mostly for disinfectant. However, I can make a few altercations and use this to fight poison, as well."

"Where did you learn all of this?"

She chuckled. "Are you interrogating me?"

"Maybe. But that's only because I don't know much about you."

"I could say the same about you." She looked over her shoulder to make eye contact with him. "You're Madara Uchiha: the heir, the most powerful prodigy, and a killer. That's all I know. Then again, it's a given."

His lips edged with intrigued. "Fine. I'll talk about myself first, then."

"I wasn't inviting you to––"

"I am the eldest out of the five of us. Three of my younger brothers have been violently killed by other clans." He let silence fill the void as he regained his footing. "I like inarizushi, I hate roe. Stone skipping was one of my hobbies, now it's falconry."

"That's great," she murmured, half-interested.

"Your turn," he said.

"I didn't agree to this, Madara."

"Hn. So you're trying to keep a mysterious aura, huh?"

"Precisely."

"Then I'll just have to guess, and you've have to say whether or not it's true."

She let out an exasperated sigh. She knew she should have gone alone.

"You have siblings."

Her stomach turned.

"One." Her tone was tensed.

"Ahhh, okay. That's a start." He smiled. "Are they alive?"

She made sure he didn't see the bitterness of her face when she answered, "Dead."

Madara's cheerful mask faded as he internally cursed at himself for being so careless. "I-I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't be…" she whispered. "It was a long time ago."

"Right…"

Tsunade locked her pouch and attached it behind her back. "Let's go."

Madara snapped his head up. "S-Sure."

Their journey back was devoid of conversation and eye contact. Tsunade walked faster than he would have liked, but he didn't blame her for wanting to instate a distance between them. She was entitled to, he guessed. After all, he did push far too much into her comfort zone. He continued to dart his gaze at the slope of her back, taking silent guesses about her past. He wouldn't have thought that behind those bright hazel eyes of hers laid sorrow –– the same sorrow as his. Since she never expressed it, he never picked up on it.

...Until now.

As they languidly walked through a field of wet silken grass, Tsunade paused. She looked up at the greyed sky which had flashes of light seeping through it. Her hazel eyes narrowed suspiciously, and her perturbed nature spiked. Something didn't feel right.

"What is it, Tsunade?" Madara asked, stopping at her side.

"Can't you feel it?"

"Hm?" He was still not completely out of his musings.

A large amount of chakra was enveloping this entire area.

She swallowed thickly.

This was not good.

"We need to head back." She started to run through the field, almost desperately.

Madara quickly took head of her words and dashed beside her. "Tsunade ––"

"It's coming…." She suddenly announced.

"What is?"

Their eyes met.

"A thunderstorm."

Streaks of pure white crackled against a stormy blanket of grey, shrouding hot silver clouds with its blinding incandescence, emanating the might of an imminent tempest. Jagged bolts endlessly protrude, filling the sky with undying flashes of radiance.

A sudden movement of lightning weaved its way from the ground upwards.

Tsunade's legs subconsciously tensed as she continued to race back to their village. "Did you see that?!"

"It's lightning..."

"This isn't ordinary lightning," she noted. "The movement of that lightning was from the ground upwards. While it is possible for this to naturally occur –– it's a rarity. For it to happen five times in the period of ten minutes is unnerving."

A group of people were creating this unnatural electric potential.

And it's spreading _fast_.

Madara gritted his teeth, knowing well what was coming. "We need to warn all of the members!"

* * *

Izuna was propped on a scaffolding as he cleaned his sword. He proudly looked at the way his weapon glinted under the wintery day. As he continued to encircle his cloth around the edge of sword, he watched the innocent children scurry about without a care of the world. Their cheerily voices bought peace to this place –– it almost made Izuna forget about the onslaught present, just outside of their makeshift walls.

"Izuna-nii!" They called out in sync.

His movements ceased, and he smiled. "What is it?"

"Do you wanna play with us?"

He shook his head. "Sorry. I'm busy right now."

"No you're not!"

"Maybe some other time."

"You always say that!"

He laughed. "I swear; I'll play with you next time!"

The children pouted at him before they continued to play by themselves. As their joyous chorus of ignorance faded into the distance, he began to stare into the faded silhouette of the mountain.

What might lie beyond these forests and great seas, he wondered. Could there be something more profound that these war-torn lands his clan clan fought for?

Izuna closed his eyes and concentrated on the cool breeze which caressed the contours of his face appreciatively. He then craned his neck up at the greyed sky, lips instantly falling into a downcast formation.

 _Lightning._

He should advise everyone to go back inside. This was going to be a heavy storm. He pushed himself up on the scaffolding, ready to spread the word. However, the cackle of lightning stopped his tracks. A gnawing sensation burned into his nape upon realization.

"Crap…." He whispered, hurrying to the edge of the scaffolding. _"Enemies are nearby!"_

The people who heard his message craned their heads up.

It was already futile.

Lightning came, a brilliant shock of white in the graphite sky, forking silently to the unsuspecting village –– the thunderous boom always calling its warning too late.

* * *

 **xox and Exciled3**


	6. Chapter 6

_Surprisingly enough, I wrote my end of the bargain in one sitting of procrastination, with only two cups of coffee at my disposal. We can't say that we like the final product of this chapter. I certainly do think that I could have written my parts better. But this is what a half-dead University student, who's neck-deep in deadlines, can give you. :))_

 _So, again, I am terribly sorry for the quality._

 _But, on the brighter note, Happy Early Christmas to all of you! I do hope you will have a nice Christmas season with your loved ones!_

* * *

 **Burn it all down to the ground**

* * *

 _I have to make it…_

 _I have to make it._

 _I have to make it!_

Madara clamped his eyes shut as he religiously reiterated these words like a mantra. The muscles in his legs tightened and bitterly burned, but the adrenaline that was suffusing in his veins were far greater for him to even realise that he was breaking his body apart. He continued to bolt through the woods –– desperate to intercept the enemy's attack.

He leapt and leapt past tree branches, and dashed through fields and tributaries. The journey was painstakingly long –– and endless. His feet sturdily landed on the ground before he bolted forth through the icy ground. As he looked up at the sky, he noticed that the black nimbus which previously encompassed the area had finally been tamed.

Does that mean it was finally over?

The Uchiha internally shook his head. It wasn't over until he got to his clan –– to his brother. As Izuna's face projected in his thoughts, he couldn't help but grit his teeth in bitterness. If anything were to happen to his only brother…..

No. He shouldn't think things like that.

Izuna was strong.

"Madara!" Tsunade suddenly called, not far from him.

He looked over his shoulder, not wanting to halt. "What is it?"

"We have company," she said simply, not batting an eyelash.

His sharingan flicked to life, twin tomoes languidly rotating in position in its pool of blood. "Front or back?" he asked, fingers already agitated around the handle of his rapier. If he can execute his attack fast enough, he would be able to cut through the first enemy.

"They're coming in fast; in front of us."

Madara smirked, unleashing his weapon from its case. "That's even better." His dominant foot sank into the soil as he pumped his feet with enough chakra to catapult him several metres towards their target, already anticipating their defence.

He dashed out of the wooded area, and onto the long stretch of barren land –– two miles from where his clansmen reside. For the first time, Madara's stiffened posture turned lax as his chest rapidly expanded to garner the oxygen his body needed.

Something was odd.

There was no one about.

Tsunade landed beside him, deeply perturbed by the empty stretch of land. "Where are they?" she huffed, regaining her breath.

Madara's sharingan tightened as he quickly surveyed the terrain, not quite convinced that their presence had just morphed into nothingness. "Tsunade…." he whispered, "….run and make sure everyone is alright. And please protect Izuna for me."

She looked ahead and nodded. "I'll do my best."

He smirked momentarily before he angled his sword and readied himself into his fighting stance, eyes glinting with deadly precision. "Go, Tsunade!"

The blonde proceeded to run into the dark. However, she had to suddenly jump back when a pair of kunai tried to shoot at her feet. She stumbled back, completely rid of breath. They were here, after all. They were just concealing their chakra, so they could catch them off guard. She would have applauded their canniness had this been a different situation.

However, this matter was not a joke. Time was of the essence. The lives of dozens were her burden to bear.

Three cloaked figures appeared languidly from the darkness. Judging by their physical appearance alone, they were not from the Land of Fire. No. Tsunade's eyes tightened as she drank in her enemies: dark-skinned, muscular, tall, with an eccentric red paint over their faces. "They're from the Land of Lightning…" she murmured, jumping further back again to reinstate a safe distance from them.

The teen in the middle approached closer, smug-faced. "Excellent guess, pretty girl." His thick accent dripped from his tongue. "But you cannot pass this place."

"And why not?" It was Madara who inquired this.

The tanned boy's demeanour changed when his charcoal eyes met the infamous scarlet eyes. "An Uchiha, huh." He was quick to lash out his large sword along with the two people beside him. His eyes flicked back to Tsunade with interest. "But _she_ doesn't look like an Uchiha."

Madara stepped closer. "That's none of your business."

"I didn't expect to see a wandering Uchiha with a commoner quite late at night." The ends of his thick lips tugged into a mischievous smile. "What's this, young forbidden love?" His eyes creased upwards when Madara's face wrinkled with scorn.

Tsunade overlooked his ludicrous conclusion and scanned for an opening she could seize. Damn it, she mentally swore. These ninjas were touted across the nations to be extremely agile; a single move could prove to be lethal. She balled her hands tightly together and continued to knead chakra in the back of her legs, waiting for the opportunity they would ease up.

The heir stepped closer towards the trio, sharingan glowering in the misty night. "Let us go and we'll forget this ever happened." The tone of his voice was eerily calm, but the fire in the depths of his glare burned with intensity. Like every other Uchiha, his emotions spoke volumes within the redness of his orbs.

"He has the sharingan, Aniki," the other boy at the left announced. "We must execute our duty."

"Ah," Aniki responded, easing into his fighting stance. "Just don't do anything reckless that will damage his eyes. They're our objective."

Madara flinched. "Objective?"

Once again, it was the boy in the middle who grinned at his inquiry. "There have been rumours across the lands that the redness of the Uchiha's eyes is the purest scarlet hue to ever exist." His tongue lapped over his lips. "There is market for those eyes, and we have been hired to _collect_ them."

"That means…." Madara's mouth was left hanging.

They were after his family, after all.

At that very moment, their fixation latched around Madara only. This was Tsunade's chance! She released all of her accumulated chakra and jolted forward, hoping to get through the easement provided by the trio. However, shackles of razor sharp steel chains latched around her wrist and prominently bit into her skin, keeping her from fleeing from the scene.

Madara's eyes widened, and his body automatically dashed to her aid, but was stopped by the two boys. He gritted his teeth, frustrated by the obstacle which obstructed him from her. "Tsunade!" He called.

"I'm fine!" She shouted back, fixating at the blood drawing out from her skin.

"What do we do with _her_ , Aniki?" The third cloaked member asked.

"She's not an Uchiha, but she's definitely an ally of them." He sighed, rolling his shoulders back. "What a shame. I really didn't want to do this to such a cute looking girl." After he ruffled his hair, his lax attitude suddenly transitioned to a cold demeanour of an assassin. "Kill her. Or do whatever you please."

It was at that moment that Tajima's words echoed in his son's mind.

" _Since she isn't an Uchiha –– or anyone special –– they will just mentally ruin her, and violate her until her sanity has disappeared."_

An icy shiver reverberated down his spine as the clutches of fear befell on his consciousness. This was what his father was referring to. Their enemies were unpredictable creatures –– they could be as feral and animalistic as the depths of Hell.

"You're not going anywhere, girl." The teen who had leashed her wrist grinned, tugging at it, to further embed its claws into her skin. "I'm going to make you come to me."

Tsunade's body relaxed as her lips tugged into a coy smile. "Not unless I make _you_ come to me _first_." It was clear that these teenage boys underestimated her potential –– Madara, included. And she could utilise their naïveté to her advantage. Her hazel eyes glowered into a molten golden tint as she managed to coat enough chakra around her wrist to prevent further damage on her skin.

He cocked his head to the side, deeply amused. "And _how_ are you going to do that young lady?"

The sharpness of her smirk was enough indication to Madara that she was pissed –– _insanely_ pissed.

Her chakra spiked in the atmosphere before she grappled around the chains and forcibly yanked at it, surprising the teen with her barbaric strength. "W-Wh-at in the Devil?!" he managed to voice before his feet gave in. His body was dragged mid-air, and he was wrung in a ball of confusion at how someone like her could have so much strength.

" _You bastard!"_ Tsunade vociferated, connecting her knuckles into his cheek. A distinct crack of bones was heard before her raw power blasted throughout the barren place.

The force was powerful enough to create shockwaves to make the ground at her feet crumble. Suffice to say, that the third member's body was flung several meters back like a broken rag doll, hitting several tree trunks before crashing down into the ground.

Whilst the enemies were still aghast by her raw power, Madara managed to engage with the remaining two enemies. "Go now, Tsunade!" He ordered, weaving several hand seals for a fire release. "I shall keep them busy here."

"Don't die," she said quickly before she used Body Flicker to disappear into the woods.

His lips slanted into a grin. "Of course I won't."

"I'm not letting you escape! You're going to pay, you bitch!" Aniki growled, activating his lightning armour to blitz for the blonde. However, his path was obscured when he had to take a step back from the roaring fire ball which was catapulted his way.

Madara flickered in front of them, purposely blocking them from the forest. He took a calm breather before he glared daggers into their existence. "I don't care why you're here. I don't care about your status." His narrowed eyes widened when his chakra reserves blasted out into the desolate area, animosity lacing his aura. "But you have created a war with my family. And I will not forgive you for this."

His face ominously darkened.

Both Aniki and his teammate froze with fear at the magnitude of his presence. This boy was lethal. He didn't seem like it before, but he certainly exuded with it now. That deathly accent on his features spelt an unsightly future for them.

"Keep your water release under your sleeve. I shall take the lead." As Aniki gave out his command, a cold sweat ambled down from his forehead.

Madara grinned a darkly grin before he unleashed his menacing nature.

"Come. I'll make you dance."

* * *

As Tsunade neared toward their makeshift village, her pessimism wasn't eased. If anything, it had spiked into a dangerous zone. She was familiar with this heart-wrenching feeling in the pit of her stomach. The sickening motion of her stomach tying into knots was repulsive enough to overthrow her sensory concentration.

It was needless to say that she had a strong intuition of misfortune.

And this pressing feeling didn't ease her pain.

In pure haste, her feet sploshed into the puddles, and she dashed through the arboraceous area. Particles of both rain and mud splattered onto her skin and clothing, but it wasn't enough to hinder her fixated mind from arriving into the possible warzone.

As she came closer and closer, she couldn't help but take notice of the pungent smell of melted paint and scorched wood.

Finally, she arrived at the scene.

The faintest glimmer of hope she clung onto through her journey was cruelly thrown into the pits of the inferno which engulfed the entire landscape.

"Oh god…." She couldn't help but gasp.

Her wet porcelain skin reflected the abomination of both gold and ember licks of flames roaring like a mad dragon, hungry for more. The nascent fire splayed like a cloak, completely engulfing the entire village from inside out.

Almost as soon as the lightning had scraped over the entire landscape, the world they knew became illuminated. The once vibrant landscape was encapsulated with charcoal plumes of darkness and misery. Their wooden homes began to collapse into heaps of burning trash, fuelling the flames rampage further.

As Tsunade stepped closer into the blaze, she felt her frozen skin melt against the intensity of the fire. However, her steps ceased when she caught a glimpse of the endless lines of bodies which had become disfigured –– and completely unrecognizable.

Their flesh as black as the smoke which enveloped around her, and their faces already mangled and torn by the greedy flames. The piles of charred flesh which filtered the entire village was scarring to the heart, even to someone who was a veteran like herself.

Despite being in the most violent war, she still could never steel her heart from bleeding for these victims of war.

This was not just a fire. This was Death. It was a giant wave, a fire storm, rolling on itself, undulating like some grotesque creature hell-burnt on the Uchiha's massacre.

Tsunade looked about through the catastrophe, lungs suffusing with the suffocating particles from the smoke. She'll never see any survivors at this rate. Without thinking much further, she weaved the needed hand seals for a water release, and leapt up into the air.

" _Water style: Water dragon bullet!"_

* * *

" _Goddamn it! Why didn't we see this coming?!"_

" _Where's Tajima-sama?!"_

" _We need to leave!"_

" _They're not backing down!"_

Izuna's half-lidden greyed eyes snapped wide open as his consciousness seeped back into his system. His pupils darted left and right, and his mouth quivered as shock began to settle onto him. He tried to reconnect with his limbs one at a time. His fingers twitched for a second and he was able to dig his fingers into the wet mud.

"Ma…" he croaked, throat as dry as a sandpaper. He paused when he registered to the rancid taste of iron that indicated stale blood around his mouth. "Nii…." he tried again but faltered when his throat constricted.

As he attempted to get his legs to function, an acute pain of agony struck him and made him yelp in pain. A jagged piece of wood from the scaffolding had punctured through his bone and muscles, keeping him in place as its tip settled into the ground.

Izuna could feel his eyes sting with tears as he helpless tried to shift his leg out. The splintered edges of the material had punctured particular areas of his muscles that grabbing it out was easier said than done.

He tried to scream, but with the blanket of discord and pandemonium, his call for help was rendered mute. Izuna grunted as he tried to push the remains of the scaffolding off of his body, finally escaping from the heap of broken wood.

The young Uchiha crawled through the sludge of mud, water and blood, numbed from the infinite slides of flames and of the deceased. What mattered the most was surviving this, he thought. He was the son of the Head Clan; he refused to die here like a pig.

He dragged himself to a corner and propped himself in a sitting position. He looked at the state of his upper leg and saw a small drift of wood completely jammed in with the coils of his muscles. He took a deep breath and contemplated how he could possibly tackle this.

Izuna removed his shirt and bit into it. The fear the clung over him increased exponentially as shrivelled screams rang from the other side with clashes of metal. He had to do this! He promised to protect his clan!

He clutched onto the protruding material and contemplated for a moment.

 _Do it_ … he said.

But he laid frozen.

 _Do it,_ he pressed.

But his hand trembled.

 _Do it!_ He internally screamed through intense hyperventilation.

With the help of adrenaline, he tightly closed his eyes and ripped it right off. Crying because of the intense pain of the friction that burned through him, Izuna screamed into his shirt and let his impending tears carelessly roll down his cheeks.

As the blood continued to meander out of his open flesh, Izuna acted quickly and wrapped his shirt around his wound, applying a tight knot to great pressure so his blood wouldn't profusely leak out. He grunted as he got back up on his feet, not feeling stable enough to run, let alone walk continuously. He unsheathed his sword and stabbed it into the ground, using it as his leverage to carefully manoeuvre about.

As he limped across the area he once called home, his jaw visibly clenched as his onyx eyes hardened. With every step he took, he saw the bodies from his clan pile up, completely scattered along the ground. Their faces were as pale as snow with lines of frustration etching their features, showing their unquenched desire to protect the clan.

Men. Women. Children.

They were all on display.

They were disgraced to oblivion.

Izuna's demeanour was unlike before; he didn't feel any confidence spurring him on. He felt empty and cold. It was as if something had been taken from him, and now he was left with a gaping hole. He clenched at his fishnet shirt and gritted his teeth, eyes glinting with burning frustration.

Had he warned them sooner, things wouldn't have ended this grotesque. They wouldn't have been so blindsided by the barrage of attacks the enemy casted on them.

This was all his fault.

His wetted locks stuck painfully ontp his face as he shamefully dragged himself to safety, walking through countless of dutiful soldiers whose faces were buried in the mud. This was the epitome of condemnation for their clan. Was this because of their recent success as a clan? Or were the gods from above damning all of them to Hell?

There was a burning sensation overwhelming his senses: a heavy sense of grief. Though the flame he felt in his mind was mild, it was flickering so strongly he couldn't help but feel some sort of hope through this all.

The Uchiha will rise from this.

They had always risen above expectations. That's why they're the strongest clan in the world!

"Izuna-nii!"

The Uchiha snapped from his musing and looked ahead. It was one of the children from earlier on, but he was all alone –– battered and bruised. Izuna pushed himself to walk faster toward the child, finally taking his hand to guide him into safety. "Where are the others, Kaori?" he croaked, limping ahead of the child.

"T-T-They…. They're around the corner," the boy gestured to the left.

"Let's gather all of you up. And we'll get out of this place." Just as he was about to go around the corner, he felt his shirt being pulled back. He stopped and looked over his shoulder. "What is it?"

Kaori's lips thinned before he looked up at Izuna. "W-What's happening? I-I don't…"

Izuna's gave the boy an empathetic look. "Never mind that. Just think about getting out of here."

"O-Okay…"

"Lead me to them."

He nodded and rushed to the other corner. "This way, Izuna-nii."

* * *

Streaks of vibrant lightning crackled through the desolate part of the woods, eradicating anything in its path. Both Lightning ninjas worked in sync to overwhelm the lone Uchiha, using their raw destructive power and speed to their advantage. Madara was warped in a composition of well calculated barrage of attacks, leaving him little to no room to retaliate.

The Uchiha's body was finally slung onto the ground. Both the enemies regained their breaths as their lightning cloaks dimmed slightly. There was no doubt about it, they had beaten the Uchiha into oblivion –– he wasn't even moving.

"Did we do it, Aniki?" He huffed, wiping the sweat which ambled down from his temple.

Aniki straightened his posture and grinned victoriously. "I think we did."

"We just need to get his sharingan and we'll be out of here. Imagine how Father will treat us when he finds out we managed to get a sharingan!" The younger teammate celebrated, eager to get his reward.

Aniki slid his slender dagger out from his pouch and carefully approach the Uchiha. "We'll finally become acknowledged by him. Wouldn't that feel great?" He looked over his shoulder and smiled at his fellow teammate. "We'll finally get the glory we deserve."

"Glory, you say?" Madara snarled, rising from the ground. He spat the blood from his mouth and smirked tauntingly. "I expected more from your attacks. That lightning coat would have been something –– had you utilised it correctly."

Aniki narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

"I could anticipate it all: your movements, your jutsu." His hypnotic scarlet jewel shone in the blackness of the night. "With my sharingan, I was able to play with the both of you. Before you could even land a hit of me, I had already protected myself with a sufficient amount of chakra." He clicked his neck back before he resumed. "Not that your punches were strong enough to overwhelm me, anyway."

"What was that?!" Aniki growled.

Madara drew his sword out and approached them. "That jutsu is incomplete –– at least, at the hands of incompetent ninjas, it is. Your chakra has been leaking ever since you activated that jutsu. Your speed and power has been decreasing from the very start."

"Aniki….." one whispered, backing away. "W-What do we do?"

Before anyone could talk, Aniki had already teleported to Madara. His fist managed to dig into his skin, but the momentum he packed in his punch wasn't enough to have much effect on Madara. "W-What!?" he bellowed out of disbelief, not wanting to accept his cruel reality.

"Is _that_ all you have?" Madara asked mockingly. "You have to do better than that. Your punch isn't even half of the strength of someone I know. You'll need much more than that to take someone like me down."

"Shit!"

Both Lightning ninjas regrouped and lashed out their own set of rapiers. "We'll just have to cut him down this time!" Aniki growled, bolting forward to deliver the first strike as the other concealed their chakra to hit Madara at his blindspot.

Madara easily deflected Aniki's attack before he dodged the second set of lashes from the other unknown ninja. He sighed and lowered his weapon for a moment. "You're both too weak to fight me."

" _SHUT YOUR MOUTH!"_ They both growled, as they used their remained chakra to enable them to flicker to Madara. One had his front, the other had his back. They had him cornered now. Their swords darted forward towards his vital organs; Aniki went for the heart whilst the other went for his kidney.

Madara flinched, but didn't have enough time to react. "W-What?!" His eyes widened at their unexpected attack. "Your chakra should have––!" His sharingan deactivated as the edges of their sword firmly embedded themselves inside of his body. His mouth quivered with pain and his face became whiter than snow. "….You bastards…" he growled.

Aniki gave a faint smile. "That's what you get for being so cocky, Uchiha."

The other also smiled. "Never underestimate us again."

Madara's sword slipped from his grasp and he continued to yelp out in agony as they twisted the sword inside of his torso. Blood slowly meandered from his mouth as he felt his body begin to shut down. However, as his lifespan began to fade, his lips gave a crooked smile. "There won't be a next time."

Aniki grinned. "Exactly. That's because you're now dead….!"

 _Thu-Thump._

A cold shiver ran down their spines as their lips trembled before they regurgitated blood out from their own mouths. That's when they realized it –– they had impaled _each_ _other_. Aniki had already killed his teammate before he had even noticed.

His eyes darted around and saw Madara calmly standing beside them with a void look on his face. Not a smidgen of pride of victory, or gloat for their loss.

He simply stared.

" _You're_ the one who's dead," he calmly said, deactivating his sharingan.

"B-But how….?" Aniki weakly asked.

"You came after the sharingan without knowing its true abilities. Our eyes are not objects meant to be put on display. They are not just anaesthetics. These eyes' potential is more inconceivable than you can possibly imagine."

The dying shinobi helpless looked into the depths of the sharingan Madara displayed once more.

"Marvel at these eyes. I had you at checkmate at the very start. _I_ became your reality." He tipped Aniki's head slightly and glowered down at him. "I made you dance like the fool you are."

 _Thu-Thump!_

Aniki's last breath drew and his heart stopped working. Finally, their bodies slumped together on the ground, with their swords lodged into each other.

Madara casually looked ahead into the woods.

"Izuna.…"

* * *

This wasn't supposed to happen.

Goddamn it!

Izuna's face fell after he saw bodies of dead children proliferating the entire road. Their pain and agony were still evident on their lifeless faces, as if they were crying for their survival till the very end.

"Wh-What's happened here….?" The older Uchiha whispered, lips quivering with both anger and helplessness. His eyes scanned through every single face he could see. The pain in his heart only worsened, as did with the flames in his brain.

"Nagami! Inanami!" The boy rushed to their dead bodies and he began to shake their bodies furiously. "T-They were alright a minute ago! I-I swear, Izuna-nii." Young tears ambled down his rosy cheeks as he wept over his deceased friends' corpses, refusing to be tugged away by Izuna. "No!" He screamed. "They're still alive, I know it! Tsunade-Tsunade can help! Wh-Where is she?!"

Izuna pursed his lips and shook his head. "I do not know. But we _need_ to get out of here." He held him by his shoulder. "Listen to me."

"I-I can't just…." he sniffed, still not making eye contact. "I can't leave them here."

Izuna leaned onto his muddied sword and knelt down. He placed his hand over the deceased's eyes and slowly closed them. "Do you want to die?" He finally asked.

The boy shook his head.

"Then come with me. We'll get help. We might even run into Tsunade along the way. She'll be able to help you."

He dried his tears and nodded sulkily. "O-Okay…"

Izuna get a faint smile. "Let's go."

Kaori stuttered and knelt back down. "One second."

Izuna hobbled up back on his feet and nodded understandably. "Alright. We can spare a second."

But that second was more crucial than they had expected. In had all happened in a blink of an eye –– faster, even. In a distorted mess, Izuna found himself grappled onto and hurled like a worthless dog.

"Izuna-nii!" The boy shrieked, completely aghast at how things had escalated so quickly.

Izuna lifted his face off from the ground and gritted his teeth. "Run." He grunted and tried to find his footing again. _"Run!"_ He skimmed his dishevelled hair back and spun out his substitute dagger.

At this point, death was palpable in the air.

Uchiha were dying left and right.

And they were next on the list.

A hulk of a silhouette flickered in front of them, but soon came into light when he stepped closer. His muscular body was bulging out from his black outfit and the dark locks of his hair was slicked back. His poised attitude alone made Izuna's blood boil with irrefutable hatred. He looked bored from this whole ordeal of other people's woe.

To him, this seemed like an easy mission of picking off the underlings.

If only he could wipe that smirk clean from that man's face. But judging from the man's stature and chakra signature, he was a force to be reckoned with. If anything, Izuna could feel his inferiority against the daunting man.

The Lightning ninja clicked his head back and sighed. "It doesn't look like any of you possess the legendary sharingan." He rolled his arms back and straightened his posture, revealing that he must just be shy of being six foot six. "And I haven't even killed any adults yet. These children were hindering my way; I had to deal with it somehow."

Before Izuna could open his mouth, he saw the kid's face etch with rage he hadn't seen before. "You killed them."

It wasn't a question.

"H-Hey, quit screwing around!" Izuna spat at the child. "Get out of here!"

Kaori gritted his teeth and let his aura spew out upon impulse. The tendrils of his hair spiked up and revealed newly festered sharingan brimming through his tears. "If you don't even have the sense of pride to stand up, Izuna-nii, then I will!" He grabbed Izuna's sword and hurdled forward, rage blinding common sense.

Izuna tried to move but his wound prevented him from getting far. He faltered shamefully back onto the ground; his pride was wounded for the thousandth time. "Don't go near him!" He screamed. "Don't be an idiot!"

The Lightning ninja clicked his neck and grinned. "Here it is. The sharingan." He balled his hand closed and activated his lightning cloak on. "What beautiful eyes you have there, boy!"

Both combatants clashed midway and a mild shockwave blasted through the area. Izuna covered his eyes with his forearm and clicked his teeth in frustration. The debris was too thick for him to see the final result of their clash.

Did the sharingan protect Kaori?

When the grey cloud cleared, Izuna's throat dried.

"Your eyes aren't sharp enough to see my speed, _boy_." His lips arched into a cynical smile of victory. "So these are the sharingan, eh?" The man lifted his limp body up from the ground whilst his hand was still firmly entrenched into his fragile chest. Their eyes met. "They're pretty pathetic." He snorted.

The bloodied boy clung onto his wrist and struggled in his hold. "T-The… Uc-Uchiha…." He murmured.

"Huh? I can't hear you; stop mumbling!"

" _The Uchiha will kill all of you!"_ Kaori vociferated.

"Well said, child!" Another presence appeared in the midst of the rings of perpetual Hell.

Izuna craned his neck up. "F-Father!" He gasped.

The brown-haired man looked over his shoulder and pulled a face. "Who the 'ell are you, huh?"

Tajima lashed his sword out and looked at his opponent evenly. "Despite our difference, our unwavering rivalry throughout the past few generations, the Senju showed our clan the decency to spare our innocent children." He said in a calm manner.

"Well, we do things differently in the Land of Lightning."

"I can see that," he snarled. "You are nothing but wild dogs that need to be put down!"

An icy pause filtered the deadly atmosphere.

"The Senju would never do anything unhanded like this." His eyes grazed over the dozen bodies of children which stained the ground. "But you didn't even hesitate to treat these children like sport. I won't forgive you, you mongrel….." He glared up at his enemy, the hue of his eyes deepening to mirror his inner rage.

The man ripped his hand off the boy and directed his attention to the Head of the clan. "Entertain me then, Uchiha. Show me that you're _actually_ worth our time."

"Izuna," Tajima spoke, "get that boy out of here. Just keep running forward and you'll see the survivors. That's the _most_ you can do."

"But Father––!"

Tajima met his eyes with blinded rage. _"Don't defy my orders!"_

Izuna nodded quietly and slowly jogged to the boy's body, picking him up before dashing off from the fight.

"No more distractions," the man mused with a slanted grin.

Tajima steadied himself into his fighting stance. "No more distractions."

" _Show me the real power of the sharingan then, Uchiha!"_

The finest sharingan sprang into action –– the three wheels came full circle in the depths of the blood-hued orbs. The lines on Tajima's face darkened slightly as he tightened his clasp around his weapon.

"Come to me. I'll hack that grin right off your face."

* * *

Izuna jumped from tree branch to tree branch, desperate to see the makeshift base his father told him about. The pain ebbing in his leg didn't matter. In fact, it was irrelevant. This was, indeed, the _most_ he could do. From the very beginning, he couldn't do anything. He hasn't saved anyone or defeated anyone.

He was the one who was _saved_.

By this boy.

This boy who was but an innocent child. Innocent he may be, but he was able to unlock the gates of the Uchiha's true power before _he_ could. He reached a feat Izuna could only dream of reaching –– and he was just a junior.

He shook his head and continued to search for the other survivors.

"I-Izuna-nii….." The boy spluttered, gurgling on his own blood. He clung onto the older Uchiha and let out a whimper of helplessness –– of the fear of death. "P-Please…," he wheezed and began to choke grotesquely in his arms.

Izuna landed softly on the ground and let him down. "We are so close," he whispered soothing. "Just hang on for a couple more minutes. Can you do that?"

He shook his head vigorously.

"I-I don't….." his tears rolled down his young, rosy cheeks. "I don't want to… die." His face contorted as he continued to cough up his own blood.

Stained red covering his youthful complexion, spelling the fate of death over him

"You're not going to." Izuna held his hand and forced a small smile. "You'll be fine."

Kaori managed to smile back, as he believed every single reassurance Izuna gave him.

Judging by his wound alone, Izuna knew that his chance of survival was slim. But still! This was not the cue to give up. He bitterly looked away and clicked his tongue in irritation. He should have intervened. But that would have spelt _certain_ death for _him_.

A shiver slithered down his spine at that realization.

It was his fear that disabled him from moving at the most crucial moment. Yes. It wasn't because of his injury that stopped him from saving Kaori. It was because of his cowardice that a gifted Uchiha was going to die tonight.

Despite the odds, Izuna firmly believed that this boy needed to live. He has awakened the sharingan –– the ultimate weapon. He is of great importance now.

"I'll keep you––!" Izuna's voice cracked.

The boy's spirit had since left his body.

His young obsidian eyes dulled into a faded grey, but his youthful faced still wrought in agony.

"Oi…." Izuna shook him lightly. "Stop kidding around. We need to go get help. Come on. You're an Uchiha, this wound isn't anything." His feigned optimism cracked and he became forlorn. "Hey…. Wake up. S-Stop ki-kidding around. Hey!"

Kaori's weak pulse had disappeared.

A corpse was a corpse. Izuna had seen hundreds of dead bodies –– friendly and foe. But this was his tipping point. The nerve pathways in his brain seemed to have sizzled with intense electricity, and his eyes burned with hot tears.

He lifted his hand which was stained with the boy's blood and sniffed. Warriors do not cry, he tried to remind himself. But it hurt, he thought. With each second he denied himself from feeling agony, his chest tightened around his lungs and deprived him from sufficient oxygen. He rasped out and slammed his hands onto the ground.

" _Damn it!"_ He cried, letting his tears finally fall.

His screams of wallow and ire screeched throughout the wooded area.

* * *

"Tsunade!" Madara landed beside her with another Uchiha survivor in his arms. "Are you alright?" he asked, specifically eyeing how shallow her breathing had become since he last saw her. Her outfit was deeply dishevelled, suggesting that she had been caught in a struggle before. The smidgen of blood and mud on her skin attested to how violent her experience must have been.

It hadn't stopped her from treating the injured, however.

"What injury does he have?" she asked, still in deep concentration at closing the laceration another Uchiha member had on their abdomen. She wiped her sweat away and let out a soft sigh upon completing her work. She wrapped two layers of bandages around the man's wound and pinned it together before she stood up from her crouched position.

"He didn't sustain any physical injury," Madara observed, quite relieved.

Tsunade stumbled to a nearby tree and leaned against it. "Good," she said dimly before she sank onto the ground. She didn't want to admit it, but she was already at her limit. With her given body and capabilities, she does not have the capacity to store as much of chakra as she did before. Therefore, healing several patients without assistance from any other medics was incredibly taxing on her chakra gauge.

Madara took his kimono off before he knelt at her feet. He delicately reached out and angled her face to the side. "You once told me that you didn't like the feeling of blood on your skin because it's unhygienic." He softly swiped off the stain from her skin and faintly smiled. "Thank you for all of your efforts, Tsunade."

She softly smirked in amusement. "I never thought _the_ Madara Uchiha could have such a soft side."

"Hn," he responded blandly, defeated. "I am merely stating the facts and acting according to them. You have been generous to our clan, especially during our times of need. Wiping off smidgens of blood and dirt from your skin is trivial compared to what you have done for us."

Tsunade remained quiet and lightly smiled, appreciating his kind touch on her skin. "W-Where's Izuna?" She asked finally, looking about for his presence but found none. When she looked at Madara's expression, she frowned. "Shouldn't we look for him?"

When she struggled to stand up, Madara softly pushed her back on the ground. "He's with father. So he should be fine." He gazed up at her leg, noticing that she was also bleeding. "H-Hey. Aren't you going to heal yourself?"

Tsunade took his shirt from him and tied it around her leg, completely unfazed. "I need as much chakra as I can possibly get. There may be more survivors who'll need my immediate attention; if I lack chakra, they will be a lost cause." Their gazes met again. "Don't worry about me."

Madara placed his hands on his hips and took a breather. "Alright. I'll take your word for it; you are the medic, after all."

"Exactly. It would be unwise to correct me," she bit back in a softer manner.

He then placed his hand on top of her head. "But you cannot fool me, Tsunade. You have passed your limit a long time ago. Your chakra has been strained for quite some time now." His eyes tightened at her haggard form. "You cannot heal another person, Tsunade."

"Do not underestimate me, Madara." Her voice still radiated with tongues of flames, so much so that it was becoming tangible around him. Even though her odds were against her, she was still gambling her luck away. And by the looks of it, while that gleam in her hazel eyes still glowed, she was never going to heed his word of giving up.

She was becoming even more interesting as the days went on by.

Madara rubbed his hands together and sat beside her. "We'll wait for father."

"And then what?"

"We'll go on his command." He gripped onto his weapon. "It will be his decision. We'll abide."

"Right."

The minutes felt like agonising hours for Madara as he laid in wait under the canopy of the trees, anticipating for his father's silhouette appearing through the thick shrouds of the woods. The faint orange glow of their fallen camp was still visible from where they were, and he couldn't help but wonder if his father had fallen into the pits of hell, along with their ruined buildings.

He gripped longingly onto his sword and heeded his father's command: to lie and wait for him.

There was a sudden rustle and Madara jolted up on his feet. Tajima had rushed into their circle with Izuna on his back and the enemy's head in his other hand. He threw the decapitated head into the fire pit before he let Izuna drop back onto the ground.

Tsunade was the first one to react, to tend to Izuna's wounds. As she worked to disinfect the open cut on his leg, she heard him sniffle and choke back his despair. She looked up at Madara who shared a soft look with his brother.

"I-I couldn't do anything, brother….." Izuna sobbed, hoping to find sympathy from Madara.

The other Uchiha knelt down beside him and kissed him on the forehead. "Get some rest, Izuna."

"I'm going to kill them," he promised. "We will hunt them down. And when we do, I _will_ _kill_ them."

Madara nodded and clasped his hand. "As will I, brother. As will I."

Their ultimatum was as palpable as the smell of blood in the air.

Tajima placed his hands on his hips, still at a lost at how the event quickly transpired. He tried to avoid any eye contact from the desperate Uchiha who had fallen to the shackles of tears and helpless, but he directly looked into those who had eyes of flames –– of hatred.

They were waiting for him to say it.

To give out his command.

To slaughter those bastards who dared to cross their clan.

Even his sons reeked with putrid hate.

"We will regroup with the other Uchiha members. And we will block off the bridges that will lead out of the Land of Fire. We won't let them retreat."

A moment of silence.

Tajima revealed his sharingan to his entire clan, as his lips were downcast with disdain.

"We will kill _every_ _single_ _one_ of them –– be it their children, their women. We will wipe their existence from this world." He pulled out his sword and stabbed it into the dampened soil. "They have raised a war against the Uchiha. And we won't let them win."

All the wounded soldiers got up on their feet with a look of determination radiating within them. Tajima's words were enough to repair their damaged honour and pride. His sharingan alone gave them the assurance that this new war was theirs for the taking.

Pairs of sharingan –– mostly newly bred –– shone just like small candelights in the dark.

Madara aided Izuna up on his feet, his sharingan was also as blood-thirsty.

"They wanted the sharingan," Tajima smirked, "so we'll give them the power of it."

"B-But… what about the children?" One woman asked, clutching at his bloodied robe. "And the other dead bodies?"

Tajima crouched down and touched the woman's frail face. "We shall give them the burial they deserve. I'll make sure of it." His hand left her face and he stood back up. "We shall honour the deaths of our comrades: we'll grieve and we'll have a feast to commemorate their accomplishments in this clan. Once we are finished, we are leaving all of our grief with them, and we will find those responsible for their deaths."

The Head of the clan turned his back on his clansmen. "That will be all."

Even though the other members didn't see it, Tsuande saw the pain in Tajima's eyes at the loss of faithful comrades. He covered his eyes with his hand and quietly grieved for the children of his clan, as if they were his own.

Tsunade's eyes softened.

She hasn't seen such a ruthless Uchiha weep so brokenly until now.

She looked up at the dark sky, knowing well that this was just the beginning.

Little did their enemies know, they had just awakened a power far greater than they could handle.

A power akin to the Gods.

The sharingan.

* * *

"Even without the sharingan, Kakashi is still very perceptive." Hashirama couldn't help but take notice as he watched him spar with Toka. He looked at his younger brother who hasn't said a word since his humiliation from their father. "Tobirama––"

"Stop talking," he hissed, more agitated than ever. "I'm trying to get a feel of Kakashi's movements."

Hashirama cocked his head slightly. "Why?"

"So I can synchronize with his movements when we fight father," he said matter-of-factly, penning the silver-haired boy's movements. He glanced up again, taking note that Kakashi was currently weight weights around his ankles and wrists. "Toka wasn't joking when she said she was going to work Kakashi to the bone."

"I know," the First said in a sympathetic tone. "She would haul Kakashi out of bed at five in the morning so they could climb the mountain. After that, before the poor thing could catch a breather, she forces him to spar with her."

"But it's working," Tobirama quietly said. "Kakashi has improved immensely –– his speed, his fighting technique, and his stamina has been increasing tremendously."

Kakashi deflected Toka's attack before he brought his knee into her stomach. However, Toka had already seen this coming. She caught his attack and head-butted him to the ground. The Hatake lost his footing and fell flat on the ground.

She huffed. "Get up, Kakashi. That was nothing."

Kakashi sighed out with exasperation as he wiped his sweat-slicked hair back. He then jumped on his feet and crouched back down into his fighting style. "This is mostly unfair Toka-san; I have weights and you don't."

"Whine later." She had already dashed at his side. "Try and defeat me now, Kakashi."

He shook his head in dismay. She truly reminded him of Tsunade. And that was more of a problem than a blessing.

Tobirama continued to pen down his characteristics in battle, and had simulations already running in his mind.

"It just might work," he suddenly mused.

Hashirama perked up and raised a confused brow. "What might?"

Tobirama suddenly flickered from him and reappeared in between Toka and Kakakshi. "Come with me," he gestured to Kakashi. "We're going to train."

Kakashi lowered his arm and let out a groan. "I'm already training, Tobirama-san."

"You're going to help me defeat my father. And in order to do that, we'll have to learn to fight effectively together." He looked at Toka. "You don't have any qualms with that, do you?"

She shrugged and shook her head, not caring less. "You will clear up my entire schedule."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed. She was intending to grill him to the bone for the entire day. These Senju members were nothing but closet sadists who relish in other people's struggle.

"What do you have in mind?" she asked.

"I was thinking of using the genjutsu you helped me develop."

She seemed flabbergasted for a moment. "You don't mean…!"

He nodded in return. "I'll use the Bringer of Darkness technique."

Kakashi's eyes widened. He's seen this jutsu before –– back when the Third was assassinated, when both the First and Second were brought back to life. This was the jutsu that blinds the opponent for an indefinite amount of time. Not even the Third could dispel it.

He looked at the Second. "You want to hone my other senses, don't you?"

"Precisely," Tobirama replied. "And by doing this, you won't have to rely on your sharingan as much anymore. This will also mean that you will have more chakra at your disposal. I will accentuate your sensory skills, as well as train you to use your chakra as your _'radar'_."

Toka crossed her arms. "You will have Kakashi on the brink of exhaustion."

"I'm sure if you've done your job right, Kakashi will have just enough chakra for this exercise."

Toka gripped Tobirama by his head. "Don't belittle me, Tobi. I'm still far stronger than you."

"Exactly," he blandly replied. "But if my hypothesis is right, after this training, I will have caught up with you."

Hashirama was heard gasping in the background.

"You seem confident about that."

"I am." He looked up at her. "But you will have to help me."

"Help you surpass me?" She wanted to laugh. "Why would I want to do that?"

"Because it's in your nature."

Toka huffed and rolled her shoulders back in defeat. "Since you put it that way, I don't think I can deny a little brother's request."

"I'm not your little brother," Tobirama snapped.

She ruffled his hair. "Well, you're still family."

Tobirama hid his blushes with a pout and spun around to Kakashi. "Meet me at our usual training area in an hour."

Before Kakashi could respond, the Senju had already flickered out from the training hall.

"R-Right…." He huffed, completely rid of exhaustion.

Hashirama placed his hand on his shoulder and grinned. "Make sure you're well hydrated, Kakashi. Knowing Tobirama, he will keep on pushing you until you drop."

Toka giggled. "And you will start seeing that I'm _not_ half bad."

Kakashi palmed his face.

To be entirely honest, every Senju was just as terrible as the next.

* * *

 **xox and Exciled3**


	7. Chapter 7

_It's nearly been two years since this story was last updated! So sorry about that! I have decided to move on with this story by myself in the mean time. :) I'm sorry if my writing isn't all that great. Aha. I need to polish it up more. Bear with me. I swear I'll get better!_

 _Anyways, thank you for every favourite, follow and review! It is greatly appreciated!_

* * *

 **Rising from the Ashes I**

* * *

Crinkles of golden embers' wrath imprinted itself in the golden pools of Tsunade's eyes, reminding her just how cruel battles are. She wanted to avert her eyes from the horror in front of her, but she stood in her spot, absorbing every ghastly detail there was that painted this catastrophe in front of her.

The bittersweet beauty of the flames' wrath reflected off from the pools of water that accumulated from the pelts of raindrops, illuminating the area around her with the shade of ember from the puddles of water that stained the asphalt, subsequently clothing the grim reality – the corpses that littered behind the waves of flames that engulfed the terrain the Uchiha once claimed theirs.

The visage was hauntingly beautiful.

Her bloodied hand clenched around her katana, with her resolution fortified by the new-found strength she found amidst the fallen ones. After witnessing everything, after being able to look from the inside in, she cannot turn a blind eye from the Uchiha. She must remain focused, just as she was in front of the blaze, and help deter the warring wars from prolonging and resulting into the wars she had familiarised herself with.

She already knew that there were dire consequences lying behind the flames, just for her disobedience in obeying the laws of time and what the events represent. She was playing the role of God, she knew, and that it demanded the greatest punishment for mortals who dared to seek higher attribution.

But she was ready to walk among the fire, to see what laid behind it; to forge an alternative path for the future of shinobi, even if that meant carving it with her own two hands.

She has not only inherited her ancestor's Will of Fire, but she had her grandfather's strength within her fibres. He, who was revered as the God of Shinobi, lived inside of the coils of her DNA. Forcing things to her way was not a foreign thing for her to do. It was in her nature, if she'd say so.

Sploshes of water alerted her, prompting her to spin around with her katana tilted for a clean slash. She halted. "Madara…" she whispered, hushed. She hasn't spoken since the incident, had decided to detach herself from the clan, so her voice was coarser than she had expected. Her grip loosened around her weapon, and she eased from her stance. "What are you doing here?"

His sharingan. She didn't notice it then, but it had evolved since she had last seen him. And with the evolution of his sharingan came a harrowing reminder of the destruction he would lay in the future. With those same damn eyes.

He looked fatigued, with him purposely leaning his weight onto his sword that was embedded into the ground. "I had to see it," he confessed. "I had to see _this_ with my sharingan. I wanted to imprint this memory into these damned eyes, so I will _never_ forget what those bastards did to my family… and what they took from us."

"Judging by the looks of things, they had retreated West. Probably to the farmer fields, to evade possible collisions with other clans. Livelihood in that valley is honest, with a low percent of shinobi, so it would be a likely hideout for foreigners such as them." Tsunade deduced, finally averting her gaze from the wreckage.

"Father has already informed our other clansmen about what had happened. It won't take long until we will prepare a counterattack." Again, there was flicker of fire behind those scarlet orbs of his. A flicker of ambition and _hate._ "Until then, we need our strength. Father informed me that we will be on the move when light breaks out."

"Where will we go? We can't venture out far for too long, especially with wounded soldiers and scarce resources."

"Towards the mountains, close to the farmer fields. Father said there will be a clan who will be willing to help us." He huffed, completely dejected from the situation. "I'm quite sceptical about it. But I trust Father. There's nothing else I can do, really…" His voice became softer at the end, exposing his insecurity of feeling helpless in the situation. His power was insufficient to guide the clan, that he knew. But still – he felt bitter towards the act of neglect he felt from his older clansmen; they purposely shunned him from any decision making because of his inadequacy.

His lack of power.

"Well, then…" Tsunade hooked his arm around her neck and pulled him against her body, letting him rest his weight against her. "Let's head back. We have a couple more hours of rest until we have to travel."

"You must trust Father, huh?"

"No…" she replied. "I trust my instinct. And my instinct is telling me to trust you. And since you trust your Father, then I will stupidly do the same. Like you, there is nothing else I can do. Not when I am this powerless." Her eyes met the ground for the millionth time that night, as if the pain of guilt was weighing her gaze down, preventing her from seeing what was ahead, and hindering her vision of seeing the strength that will surely aide her in the future. The warm ache in her heart was unforgettable, scarring, and it vexed her muscles in wanting to attain what Madara also desired.

Power.

The power to protect.

"Powerless?" Madara retorted. "You are beyond powerless, Tsunade. You have saved dozens of lives tonight. Being able to save lives is the most powerful thing I've ever seen. Taking a life is simple; it only takes one swift move to do so. But saving a life, going against the powers of God… now, _that_ is powerful." His thinned lips curled into a sincere smile of gratitude. " _You_ have become essential for the clan, Tsunade. Without you…" He shook his head; even with his sharingan, he couldn't foresee how they could have coped without her prowess aiding them. "I don't even want to know what we'll do without you…"

"I wouldn't have so much trust in my abilities, if I were you. I would hate to sorely disappoint you in the future."

"Hn. I hate to break it to you, but I've placed my trust in you a long time ago." He continued to limp beside her, barely able to stand on his own now. He was struggling to hide his difficulty in manoeuvring, especially in a heavily wooded terrain like this, but he couldn't let his pride be wounded further by letting her see him at his worst.

But he underestimated her skills as a medic – she was already aware of his dilemma ever since she supported his weight against her body. She was a veteran, one who revolutionised the field of medical ninjas. During her prime, she was the only one in the front lines who had the capacity and efficiency to heal wounded soldiers in the midst of battle. It had almost become second nature to her to be able to engage in combat and heal at the same time. Of course, that task became easier when she was able to link her chakra with Katsuyuu.

So being able to deduce that Madara was in no condition to walk, let alone embark on this long trek, was as simple as breathing for her. And yet, she gambled with her mind, and placed her bets with her heart, by allowing the Uchiha to keep his pride. She played her part and feigned ignorance of his growing discomfort.

He must have realized that she was keeping an ignorant façade halfway through their journey, because he huffed.

"What?" she asked, stopping suddenly.

"You're something else, Tsunade." His weary eyes gazed up to meet her hazel pair. The grey hue in his eyes reminded her of crumbled up charcoal, cracked under pressure, looking to be beyond repair. _Useless_. But with the fire behind her eyes, fuelled by her personal conviction, she was able to kindle a small fire in his charcoal eyes. One that needed assistance to brew into wildfire, but she knew, that after his flame has blazed into its fullest potential, he would be close to unstoppable.

"As are you, Madara."

* * *

While the clan's energy faded under the underwhelming dose of fatigue and grief, Tajima remained awake. He saved the majority of his energy by leaning against a trunk of a tree, mind in deep contemplation of what appropriate measures should be taken to remedy the fresh wound his people felt. Cutting down those foreigner pigs will be satisfying, no doubt, but that would not be enough. He craved for a better revenge, one that will echo to the ears of those who will harken about the Uchiha.

They were a clan of pride. One that dominated the lands of Fire. They are not lambs that are put up for slaughter, killed for sport or profit. Their eyes are not jewels meant to be a part of a collection; they are for battle, for carnage. Those who fail to comprehend that deserve the greatest damnation.

As the adumbral vastness that stretched across the cavity where their quarters used to reside in began to fade, with the golden streaks of morning light singing their salvation for his clan peeking through, his eyes flicked back to his remaining children.

They were still sound asleep, faces completely ridden of hurt that this cruel world inflicted on them. They were just children, he understood, and yet they wielded a sword like a swordsman who has had years to hone his skill. They knew how to efficiently kill a foe, inflicting as much or as little pain as they wanted. But they failed to grasp the finer things in life. The things their mother would have taught them had she been alive. Had the Senju not ruthlessly taken her away. They bartered with her life before ultimately putting her under intense torture regimes when he couldn't meet their demands.

That night still left a bitter taste in his mouth. He couldn't even obtain the body of their mother. Of his wife. The only woman he had let himself love.

"Madara. Izuna." He whispered with uncharacterised softness. It was during times like this, when the world was still at peace, that he treasured the most. His fondest memories of his children were not of them during combat (albeit their victory has, indeed, made him proud), but when they were at peace.

As expected, Madara slept next to Izuna. He had always taken it upon himself to protect him. There was something about having pride in being the older brother that geared Madara's protectiveness over Izuna. Without fail, he was there for him. Ready to protect him from anything this world threw at them.

But something was different.

Yes.

The presence of that girl was what made the picture different. She was asleep beside Madara, with her back towards the brothers, as a way to detach herself from the duo. Nevertheless, she remained in Madara's scope of care, as he clothed her with his kimino, shielding her from the fangs of the night, as he shared a thin blanket with Izuna.

She was an outsider. And yet she understood their pain like she was one of them. He saw her seething that night, absolutely thrown off course by the emotions she felt for the clan. He had never wanted sympathy from the likes of her, but he appreciated her unfiltered series of emotions, especially when it came to Madara. She cared for his son, and his son cared for her. Even if Tajima didn't outwardly acknowledge this fact, he truly did believe that her presence has impacted Madara.

He was his oldest child now. So, he has had to bear things he shouldn't have to at this age. Everything he has endured has resulted in his jaded personality towards war and battles in general. He walked ahead of everyone, with his head held up high, but with his eyes clouded with intense sorrow. Still, he continued to pave a new future for everyone, as their future leader, without looking back.

While Tajima was proud of having a son as loyal and devoted as him, there was a dull ache in his consciousness that he couldn't numb. It was the knowledge that Madara was _his_ son, that made him weak. As his father, he is the one who should be walking ahead of him. The one who should be shouldering his son's personal burdens.

But Madara was so far ahead, and he has been so fixated on the past, that he couldn't catch up to him now. Even if he started sprinting now, Madara would remain ahead of him. He has the same fiery personality as his mother, one that's powerful enough to burn the likes of Tajima Uchiha. _Him._ The strongest Uchiha to have ever graced the Land of Fire, as records have told him so.

But now, with Tsunade in this picture, he could see Madara's footsteps become quicker and heavier with resolve. She was _there_ with him, providing him with the support he could not give.

Tajima smirked. Her strength was unlike he has ever seen from anyone. She was strong with her punches but, at the same time, she was gentle with her touches. A woman with such polarising qualities was certainly a rare sight to see.

She complemented Madara so well, he now realised. She has the means to rein in his son's dangerous ambitions, while also giving him the support he needs to move _forward_ , even if it is not in the path he wished to walk in.

Dawn was firmly settling in now. Tajima wielded his sword beside him and breathed out into the icy morning. A few of his clansmen were already waking up, including his two sons. It was time to move. To regroup and plot their revenge on the clan that did them wrong.

His peace has ended.

* * *

Each step. Each weight sunk into the mud. Each breath. Came with immense energy over the fatigued clan. They all shuffled in twos, leaning against each other as a way to lessen their exertion, as they gained support from each other. Madara and Izuna walked alongside each other, with Tsunade leading ahead of them.

They wordlessly followed Tajima through the wooded terrain for hours on end. They had left when dawn had come. It was now close to the evening. They hadn't had a decent break to regain their strength since the embarked on this journey. While it was pivotal for them to field a stable shelter before nightfall, it was clear that some members of the clan were in inadequate shape to keep up with the soldiers' pace. The elderly, the women, the untrained children, were greatly lacking in stamina to sustain their pace. They were growing weary per step they took. Their complexions were now grey with exhaustion, and their expressions were strained with pain. But they continued to follow the crowd without any complaints, because they understood the reason of Tajima's urgency of receiving shelter.

They were in no shape to camp out in the open. Not in their current condition. By staying out in the wilderness in the dark, they were essentially handing themselves off to the wolves who reigned this unfamiliar terrain. Since the Uchiha often distanced themselves from the mountains, having no desires to conquer such land, they were not familiar with the geography of the mountains.

Since the altitudes are low up in mountains, the temperatures are much lower than it is below at sea level. And if there's anything the Uchiha are not adapted to, it's the freezing weather that the mountains brought during winter. Not only that, the uneven ground the mountains provided meant that growing crops was difficult. And if crops were scarce, there would not be enough food to fuel the entire clan, which may then lead to increased mortality rates (as morbid as that sounds). Even super soldiers such as them need nutrients to sustain their strengths and immune systems.

"Are you alright, Izuna?" Madara asked.

"I'm fine," he sharply insisted as he continued to stutter in his footsteps.

It seemed to be a family trait for the Uchiha to be stubborn, Madara realised then. His gaze continued to linger at the bandaged injury Izuna had sustained from the previous night. He was impressed that he even had the strength to make it out of there alive. But as Madara's eyes wandered upwards to see the grief in his brother's face, his smile waned.

Izuna may have made it out alive, but a part of him died with the child he had failed to save. His heart must be in pieces, but he was adamant in keeping an impenetrable front that Madara couldn't fully comprehend on what was going on in his mind.

"Izuna—"

" _Brother._ " He stopped for a moment to give him a stone-cold glare. "I don't need your pity."

"Pity? I'm not—"

"You _are._ You have been looking at me with those saddened eyes ever since last night! You must be thinking _'Oh poor little Izuna, that must have been tough for him, being too weak to fight those foreigner bastards'._ Well, I'm _fine!_ I'm alive, aren't I? You should be sympathizing for those who didn't make it!" He clicked his tongue and doubled his pace, breaking synchronization with Madara, even overtaking Tsunade in the process.

Before the blonde could say anything, he had already brushed past her and left her to walk beside Madara, instead. His injured leg was ebbing now, but he was insistent on trudging through the muddy terrain until they reach their destination. He cannot bear to look at the softened face his brother wore for him. The look of despair _for_ him. He didn't _need_ it. Nor did he want it.

He didn't want to be reminded of his shortage in skill and power. Especially not from Madara. If anything, he should be reassuring him that they were going to kill those bastards without fail. He should be beckoning for him to come and join him to train later. To get stronger together. But instead, he received that look he hated the most.

It was the look someone would give to another who was too weak to make an impact. That look of sympathy was nothing but a mocking gesture of his inadequacy in his eyes. It was just a constant reminder that he wasn't powerful enough to protect _one_ of those children. Not even the one who was right in his arms.

And that was because he was a weak coward.

Izuna hung his head low and gritted his teeth. _Damn it,_ he internally snarled. What has his training accounted for, if he couldn't even save the ones he wanted to save? He thought that if he had constantly trained then he would be strong _enough_ to protect others besides himself. But he wasn't even able to do either – he didn't save anyone and he was barely able to save himself.

His hand curled into a tight fist fuelled with fury. This feeling was frustrating; it was slowly chewing at his heart. The pain sharply stung. He thought that if he had just shut his eyes that everything was going to be okay. That the feeling he was experiencing would be numbed with the help of sleep. But that wasn't the case. The hurt he was feeling still felt as fresh as it did the night before. And this was because he was lacking a quality, a prerequisite in being a capable shinobi.

 _Strength._

He was devoid of such thing, and he didn't even know it. Until last night. That night was now a reminder in his mind that all of his beliefs of his abilities were but a delusion of an ambitious boy. He was nothing like his older brother; he was neither a prodigy nor was he smart. He was just _enough_ to get by. But that wasn't good enough, he realised.

He needed to be _better._

"Stop."

The sudden order from his father made him briskly freeze in his spot. He looked on ahead and witnessed his father's fingers already clasping for his sheathed sword. Was there an enemy close by that he could sense?

Izuna looked around him and his breath stopped. A shadowed man was perched on a branch of a tree, just looking down at them. Specifically, at his father.

"Nobody interfere." Tajima pulled out his katana and hunched down into his fighting position.

The man jumped down onto the ground, keeping a hold on his straw hat. He was donned in a tardy kimono gear, with gauntlets protecting his forearms. Was he a samurai? That would explain his lack of presence in chakra. If that was the case, then he was biting more than he can chew. Tajima was not only an extraordinary swordsman, but he was competent with his use of chakra. Even if that man was on par with his father in swordmanship, his inept ability to harness chakra would put him at a big disadvantage.

But, still, Izuna swallowed thickly. Something about that man unsettled him.

Words were not exchanged between the two fighters. It happened so suddenly, so swiftly, that without the aide of a sharingan, Izuna was unable to comprehend their lightning-quick movements. One moment they were just gauging the other one out, but the next, their swords were clashing left and right.

Tajima made a calculated swerve to the right when the man lunged at him, smoothly creating an opening to strike. In one fell swoop, he slashed his sword down to cut through the man's torso, but he had underestimated his agility. Within a second, in the process of his blade meeting flesh, the man had flickered behind him.

Izuna gasped. So, this man can use chakra, too?!

He twisted his blade and thrusted it at Tajima, prompting him to swing his blade to intercept his attack. However, his attack was a feint, thus eliciting an opening from Tajima. The man smirked. Instead of slashing into Tajima's body, he used the butt of his sword to smack him backwards.

"You're as careless as before, Tajima."

The Uchiha spat out his spit that was covered in blood before his wiped his bloodied mouth with his sleeve. "We'll see about that." Almost instantly, his dark eyes shone in a sharp scarlet-hue, with three black tomoes swirling into position. He adjusted his sword in his hand and exhaled sharply. His stance was different now. And his presence was more potent than before.

He was getting _serious._

But, through a series of blinks and desperation to keep his concentration on the man, he felt a haze in his battle instincts. He was worn down. Physically exhausted and sleep deprived. He was too handicapped for a fight like this. But he couldn't back out now.

The man chuckled as he stepped closer, playfully twirling his sword around as he did so. "Alright, then."

Izuna winced as he heard a quick series of executions of metals clashing into metal. And upon looking back, he saw how enthralled Madara was in the fight. His sharingan was darting left and right as he intricately followed the combatant's movements. And with each clash of heavy metal that echoed through the forest, he saw Madara's hand twitch at the handle of his sword. He also wanted to intervene, but his abilities were overshadowed by the two adults, that he couldn't even find an opening.

Tajima jumped back from his opponent before he launched himself up into the air, using his accelerated momentum to break through his defence. But to his surprise, his attack was forcibly parried back when the man coated his sword with chakra, pushing him a few meters back before he gained enough traction to stand still.

His scarlet eyes narrowed at the man's figure; he wasn't exerting as much chakra as he was, but he was easily on par with him even with his sharingan. He clicked his teeth before his body instinctively moved in for another barrage of attacks. This time, he used his chakra in the muscles of his legs to catapult himself to his opponent in speed that he – without the gift of a sharingan – wouldn't be able to read.

In the last second, when the man had slashed his blade downwards, Tajima manoeuvred his body away from his interception and had spun around to his unguarded side. From there, he accelerated his sword forward for a clean cleave of his upper torso.

"Naïve!" The man snarled, quickly parrying his attack with his gauntlet.

"You're the one to talk!" Tajima released his grip from his weapon before he ducked down to dodge the man's blade. By a hairline, he was able to escape certain death. And judging by the wide swing he had just done, he was wide open for a counterattack. With enough momentum and strength fuelling his dominant arm, Tajima swiftly brought his hand up for a clean uppercut.

His knuckles connected with his jaw, sending him up into the air. In a swift execution, utilised the man's helpless position in mid-air and executed a brutal side-kick on his face. He watched him double over onto the ground with a heavy thud following his impact.

Weary, and distorted, the man tried to regain his poise. As he lost of his balance on the ground, Tajima quickly completed the handseals of a fire jutsu. "Fire style: Fireball jutsu!" A majestic ball of scorching flames engorged the landscape before it set off an explosion that shook the ground they stood on.

Crows were now flooding the sky, fleeing from the desolated part of the mountain.

Izuna beamed. "Father, you—"

"I know that wasn't enough to kill you," he said matter-of-factly, as he picked up his sword. "Come out."

As expected, he came out of the shadows, but was not unscathed. The left side of his clothes were burned off, showing the second degree burns his arm was inflicted by. The man sharply inhaled as he tried to flex the fingers of his dominant hand. They were still functional, but they have sustained a lot of damage that he could not rely on them.

He threw his sword onto his other hand, and he sighed. "That jutsu of yours is more powerful than before."

Tajima gave a lopsided grin. "The years have only made us stronger."

Izuna's ears perked. They know each other?!

The mysterious man rolled his shoulders back and assumed his fighting stance again. "Well, then, shall we decide the winner of this match?"

"Come!"

Within a millisecond, he was right in front of him, surprising even his sharingan. He was even quicker than before! However, instead of colliding with his adversary, Tajima angled his sword in a way to discourse his enemy's sword's trajectory. Much to his surprise, his sword did not scrape against the hilt of his opponent's katana. It had cleanly cut through air.

His throat dried up as he realised his mistake. _An afterimage?!_ He moved quickly and slapped out his kunai to deflect the series of hacks and slashes he was relentless faced off with. His sharingan was beginning to stagger against the overwhelming stimuli it was receiving. His eyes darted all around, desperate to keep up with the movements of his blade, but it proved to be futile when a dozen executions pierced through his skin.

Every time he moved to block his strike, his kunai met a phantom image of his sword as it sliced through nothingness. It was as if he was in a genjutsu! The fight had taken him dangerously close to the edge of the cliff, with only weakened soil holding his weight up. He had to move out of the way, he knew.

In that moment, when adrenaline was the only chemical surging through his body, he saw the look of distraught in both of his sons' faces. Their eyes were wide with horror at how he was being overwhelmed by a swordsman who was only using one hand.

In that moment of madness, of potent testosterone between the two combatants, Tajima's eyes glowed with his ultimatum – he wasn't going to let his honour as their father be sullied so easily. Even if that meant he had to take extra measures. His eyes tightened as he predicted the next wave of attack. Instead of dodging it or trying to deflect it, Tajima allowed it to pierce through his hand.

Upon feeling the steel break through his bones, he grabbed onto it and brought his sword upwards to cut cleanly through his damaged arm. But as expected, his attack was too slow and it lacked enough power to surprise him. However, the hilt of his sword did manage to lightly slice through the skin of his cheek before it split his straw hat open.

The man jumped back and allowed for his identity to be revealed. His long silver hair flowed out as his hat came apart on the ground. His parted bangs framed his intense, narrow purple eyes and slender face. His feminine features, however, juxtaposed his lean and tall build, as well as his masculine stance when he rested his sword on his shoulder. His expression was not filled with scorn or bloodlust, but it was muted and unreadable. He was just stood there, watching the exhausted Uchiha struggle to stay up on his feet, completely laxed and without his guard.

In a split second, the distance between them was filled by two Uchiha younglings. Madara was ready to unsheathe his blade while Izuna had already held his blade in an undaunted horizon; levelled with his nose just as he was taught. They were ready to fight in their father's stead.

A collective sound of unsheathing swords could then be heard as the rest of the Uchiha clan pointed their weapons at him. They were seething with bloodlust.

"Stand down, _all_ of you." Tajima firmly instructed as he pulled out the sword that was still embedded in his palm.

"But father—" Izuna was about to insist.

"Unless you want to kill the only hope we have, I'm ordering you to stand down. I'm not going to ask again." His tone asserted his dominance over the clan, placing them into complete complacency.

"You're as ruthless as ever, Ayakashi…" Tajima muttered with a bloodied smirk, walking past his sons to give his sword back. "You could have killed me."

"And what about your risky fireball technique? Being grazed by that was enough to cause _this_ much damage to my body." His pale lips softened into a small smile as the rest of his features eased up into a look of admiration for the dark-featured shinobi. "You have gotten stronger, Tajima. Although, I must say, fatigue doesn't suit you."

"I haven't had the opportunity to rest well."

"And why are you here, in the mountains? I thought the Uchiha hated it up here."

"I need your help, Ayakashi." He cradled his blooded hand and sharply inhaled, stalling for a second so he could gather his thoughts. "We were attacked by a group of mercenaries from the Land of Lightning. As things stand, since most of my clansmen had embarked on gathering supplies for the long haul of winter, we are greatly outnumbered. We need—"

Ayakashi placed his hand on his shoulder. "Don't overexert yourself now. We can go back to my compound to rest our wounds, before we discuss our common enemy."

"There's no need for that. We have a gifted medic; our wounds will be healed more efficiently by her hands."

He cocked one eyebrow in interest as he watched a petite blonde girl take that as her cue to promptly heal Tajima's hand. Her features were not of an Uchiha, and her abilities did not belong to the clan, either. Was she a prisoner of theirs?

Tajima gestured for him to sit down as well. "Tsunade can heal your wound within a second," he reassured. "She's the best medic I know, even rivalling those in the Senju clan."

Tsunade tried to brush over his comment as she worked to patch up his minor cuts. During her healing process, she could feel Ayakashi's gaze linger on her with deadly precision. It was as if he analysing her every move.

"She's truly a gifted young girl," Ayakashi finally said, keeping a keen eye on how Tajima's flesh and bones were reconstructed by the blonde.

"Tell me, have the Senju past through your compound these past few weeks?"

"We both know that I am cannot tell you that. We are neutral to your warfare with the Senju clan; while we are open to providing hospitality to any native clan, we do not wish to take sides in any war. Even yours, Tajima."

Tsunade slowly moved over next to Ayakashi, purposefully avoiding meeting his sharp eyes. She concentrated her emerald chakra in the middle of her hands before she isolated his burns with it. As she worked to repair his damaged skin tissue, she became nerved at how his attention was glued on her. It may have been due to fascination or suspicion, she didn't know. But she had somehow piqued his interest.

"How old are you, Tsunade-san?" He finally asked.

Madara and Izuna hardened their glare at the silver-haired man, perturbed with what his ulterior motives were.

Honestly, she didn't know how old she was, but if she were to hazard a guess: "Fourteen years old."

"Hm. A prodigy in the healing arts. You're a rare gem, Tsunade-san. Medics are not only difficult to train, but proficient medics are even harder to find. Who would have thought that a girl like you could heal such a complex wound like this."

For the first time, her hazel eyes met his tantalising purple eyes. An odd feeling of familiarity immediately sunk into the pit of her stomach. It was as if she had been in his presence before. His pale skin and his half-smile expression scrambled her mind, urging her to mentally scavenge for the schema she had stored away in her mind.

He greatly resembled someone she knew. Someone she had met before.

Looking back, even his fighting style was familiar. His innate prowess with the sword and his quick calculations in battle, it reminded her of –

Her eyes met the slash that was made on his cheek earlier, and she almost gasped. _Kakashi._ He was just like Kakashi! But was he a direct ancestor of Kakashi? His features were not as masculine as Kakashi, nor was it as rugged as Sakumo's. He even possessed a feature both father and son lacked – purple eyes.

Was this man not from the main branch of the family?

"Is there something you'd like to ask me?" he inquired.

Tsunade shook her head. "N-No…"

He touched her hand that was healing the cut on his cheek. "Save your chakra for something more important, Tsunade. This wound will heal on its own." He swiftly pulled her up on her feet along with him before he bowed his head slightly. "Thank you for tending to my burns." He skimmed his hand over his new patch of skin, almost in disbelief and then looked back at Tajima. "You better look after this girl, Tajima. She is a priceless piece to your arsenal."

Tajima agreed with a soft nod. "I'm aware."

"Good. Now, it's best if we get going. There are bandits around this region; we don't want to hassle ourselves in killing weaklings."

As Ayakashi trudged on forward, both of the Uchiha boys rushed over to their father's side. "Who is that guy, Father?" Izuna was the first to ask.

"A skilled assassin. His swordsmanship is unrivalled in this country, and his skills as a shinobi is among the likes of Butsuma Senju. He is the perfect ninja by all accounts. Even I can't help but respect him."

"But what kind of kenjutsu did he use to corner you like that, Father?" Madara then asked. "I've never seen anything like it before. He only had one sword, but it looked like it multiplied to a hundred!"

"It's my first time seeing that move," he confessed. "Even my sharingan couldn't read it."

"What?! But I thought the sharingan could read every movement!" Izuna professed. "There's just no way…"

"You should know that you shouldn't rely solely on the sharingan's powers. While these eyes are, indeed, powerful, they have their limitations. Putting your entire trust in these eyes can cloud your other judgements, which may inevitably lead to your downfall, Izuna.

"There are foes that you will encounter in the future who can out manoeuvre the sharingan. While these shinobi are scarce, they still do exist. Tajima looked straight ahead, at Ayakashi's tall and broad back, with a hint of intimidation. "He is one of the few who can overpower the sharingan. Ayakashi Hatake, the leader of the Hatake clan."

"Wait… Ayakashi _Hatake_?" Madara repeated, almost in disbelief. "Isn't he…?"

"Ah. He's also known as Gilgamesh to the people in the foreign lands. It has been said that he has claimed over ten thousand lives with one blade, his chosen weapon – the masamune. He's a prominent silver-haired shinobi who has now become synonymous with Death.

Both boys looked up at their father in confusion. They have never witnessed him speak about someone else so highly, especially about someone who was not from the clan. If that man has earned the respect from the likes of their father, then that must mean that he is truly a formidable ninja.

Tsunade gazed back at the man. The way he carried his presence was very reminiscent of Kakashi, but there was something _dark_ about him that she couldn't fully unravel. Something _dangerous_ under his resolute exterior. He was yet another silver-haired enigma in her life.

* * *

 **xox**


End file.
